Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) Pursh, Geyer, Aspens, the Annual Meeting, and More: About This Issue (Editor) Botany, like all sciences, changes and evolves with time. And sometimes we engage in spirited debate about how or why that knowledge must change. However, we must not forget the effort, the taxonomy and floral description, the steadfast information that has been given to us by dedicated botanists who first scoured the nooks In this Issue: and crannies of North America. In this issue, I am FredenckPm*,andth(.Lewisandcia* Expedition, / pleased to continue the dialog on early botanists. H.Wayne Phillips l They were rough and tumble characters, and we Quaking Aspen - Ecology and Restoration, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas .... 5 can learn much from them. Annual INPS Meeting Announcement 8 In addition to articles on early botanists, look for Chapter News 13 ' this issue’s highlighted species, Aspen. And, don’t News and Notes 15 forget the Idaho Native Plant Society Annual Meeting this July in Sandpoint. Look for the annual meeting announcement inside. {Articles contributed to Sage Notes reflect the views of the authors and are not an official position of the Idaho Native Plant Society.} In this Issue: Frederick Pursh, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, H.Wayne Phillips 1 Quaking Aspen - Ecology and Restoration, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas .... 5 ' Annual INPS Meeting Announcement 8 Charles Geyer Reconsidered, Thomas R. Cox 9 V Joe F. Duft, 1935 to 2001, Am Debolt 1 1 ' Chapter News 13 News and Notes 15 Frederick Pursh, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition H. Wayne Phillips, Montana Native Plant Society Frederick Pursh? No, he wasn’t one of the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, however, Pursh made a key contribution to one of the objectives of the expedition. President Jefferson directed the captains to notice “the face of the country, it’s growth & vegetable productions; especially those not of the U. S. ...the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose their flowers, or leaf. . .” (Cutright 1969). The expedition was to be, in part, one of botanical exploration. The plants discovered by the explorers would be of great interest to President Jefferson and the citizens of the United States. In 1814 the journals were published in Philadelphia in History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark... This was a literary paraphrase of the Journals, edited by Nicholas Biddle, a travelogue which contained none of the scientific discoveries. That same year Flora Americae Septentrionalis (Latin for Flora of North America ) by Frederick Pursh was published in London. That volume described 132 plant species collected by Lewis and Clark on the Expedition, and included 13 plates illustrating them. - 1 - See Wayne Phillips in Idaho Presentation in Costume The Plants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sponsered by: The Sierra Club April 17, 2002 7pm Boise State University Student Union Forum Room Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) This was the first botanical manual to span the continent, and contained many interesting species from the Northwest. Beargrass, bitterroot, pink monkey-flower, shiny Oregon-grape, mockorange and scarlet gilia, announced in the book, were new to the science of botany. So, who was Frederick Pursh, and how did he happen to include Lewis and Clark’s plants in his book? Pursh was bom in 1774 in Grossenhain, Germany. He was educated at Dresden and worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens there. In 1799 he traveled to the United States, and from 1803-5 he was the manager of Woodlands, a botanical garden near Baltimore. While at Woodlands, Andre Michaux’s Flora Boreali- Americana, America’s first comprehensive floral manual, was published describing 1,600 species. In 1805 Pursh began to work for Dr. Benjamin Barton, a professor of medicine and botany at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Barton was a colleague of Thomas Jefferson through their joint membership in the American Philosophical Society. President Jefferson had enlisted Barton’s help in training Meriwether Lewis, giving him a crash course in the science of botany, before setting out on the expedition. Barton also agreed to help with the work needed to examine, describe, and publish the results of the botanical collections of the expedition. In 1805 Lewis and Clark sent a box of 60 plant specimens down the Missouri River to President Jefferson in Washington, D. C. Jefferson immediately sent these plants to the American Philosophical Society, who placed them in the hands of Dr. Barton. 1806-7 Pursh was doing field work for Dr. Barton, who was planning to write a flora of North America. Pursh claims to have traveled 3000 miles on foot each of these two seasons collecting plants and observing the geography, soil, and vegetation of the Atlantic states. In 1806 he collected 895 plant specimens while traveling through the southern states from Maryland to North Carolina; in 1807 his botanical explorations took him north to New Hampshire and the Great Lakes area. In 1807 Pursh was introduced to Meriwether Lewis by his landlord, Bernard McMahon, a florist and seed dealer in Philadelphia. Lewis was favorably impressed with Pursh. He left his plant collections with Pursh, and paid him $60 to organize the collection and prepare some drawings. Lewis told Pursh that he would be back later to help him in the preparation of the botanical material, which he intended to publish with the journals. Pursh described the collection received from Lewis as “a small but highly interesting collection of dried plants.... consisting of about one hundred and fifty specimens, contained not above a dozen plants well known to me...” (Ewan 1979). These were the plants that were collected, according to Pursh: “...during the rapid return of the expedition from the Pacific Ocean. . . A much more extensive one, made on their slow ascent towards the Rocky Mountains... had unfortunately been lost, by being deposited [in caches]... at the foot of those mountains” (Ewan 1979). Lewis’s tragic death in 1809 prevented further collaboration with Pursh, who had sought work in New York. Pursh received additional funds from Clark in 1810 for the work contracted by Lewis. However, apparently Clarkia pulchella - Drawn and engraved by Frederick Pursh in his Flora Americae Septentrionalis (1814) (Photographs of plates were taken by the author.) -2- Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) without Clark’s permission, Pursh retained a copy of the drawings and duplicate plant specimens from Lewis’s collections, some appearing to have been snipped off the collections that were left in Philadelphia. Clark reminded Dr. Barton of his agreement to help with the Lewis and Clark plant discoveries, but Barton failed to follow up, and the planned volume documenting the scientific discoveries of the Expedition never materialized. In London in 1811, Pursh became acquainted with Sir Joseph Banks, who was willing to share his extensive American botanical collections, and A. B. Lambert, a benefactor willing to finance Pursh in writing a flora of North America. The work, titled Flora Americae Septentrionalis, was completed and presented to the Linnaean Society at its meeting in December of 1813. Officially published in 1814, the manual includes 3,076 American plant species, or almost twice the number in Michaux’s 1803 manual. Pursh’ s manual sold in London for one pound, 16 shillings if uncolored, and two pounds, 12 shillings if colored. Today’s exchange rate is about one pound equals $1.50 (U.S.). The plant species are arranged in Pursh’ s flora according to the Linnaean Sexual System based on the number of pistils and stamens that the plants bear. The entry for each plant includes the Latin binomial scientific name by genus and species, a plant description in Latin, habitat requirements, geographic distribution, a Linnaean symbol indicating the habit and life span (ie. perennial, annual, woody), blooming season, the source document for known plant species, and sometimes comments and notes on the uses of plants. For example, Pursh includes a long narrative describing the Native American method of preparation and storage for Indian bread-root ( Psoralea esculenta Pursh) in part from information supplied by Meriwether Lewis. The book has three indices, a Latin and English index, an English and Latin index, and a genus and synonym index (Index Generum Et Synonymorum). The English names are common names, like bearberry. Pursh also indicated in his flora the source of each of his plant descriptions with the abbreviations v.s. for vidi siccam (I have seen in a dried state), and v.v. for vidi vivam (I have seen in a living state). Thus, he credited the plant descriptions from the Lewis and Clark Herbarium with “M. Lewis v.s. in Herb. Lewis,” meaning “I have seen the plant in a dried state in the Herbarium of Meriwether Lewis.” In writing his flora Pursh used 55 sources of plant specimens to supplement his own extensive collections. Some of the collections used were from famous botanists of the day, including John and William Bartram, John Badbury, Aloysius Enslen, Archibald Menzies, Andre Michaux, Henry E. Muhlenberg and Thomas Nuttall. Of the 132 plant species in Pursh’ s manual that were described from plants in the Lewis and Clark herbarium, 94 were new species proposed by Pursh, and 40 have been retained as the accepted scientific name for the species today (Reveal et al. 1999). Pursh also named three new genera, which are still recognized: Lewisia (in honor of Meriwether Lewis), Clarkia (in honor of William Clark), and Calochortus (Greek for beautiful grass). Other new species Pursh named in Lewis’s honor were Linum lewisii , Lewis’s blue flax; Philadelphus lewisii, mockorange or syringa (state flower of Idaho); and Mimulus lewisii, Lewis’s red monkeyflower. Thirteen of the 24 plates illustrating plants in Pursh’ s book are plants from the Lewis and Clark herbarium; 7 were drawn by Pursh himself, probably under contract with Meriwether Lewis. Gaultheria shallon - Drawn and engraved by William Hooker in Frederick Pursh (1814) Flora Americae Septentrionalis -3- Spring 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) However, Pursh failed to recognize the opportunity to name several additional new genera from the Lewis and Clark herbarium, including Balsamorhiza, Camassia, Lomatium, and Purshia. In 1816 P. A. Poiret named Purshia in Frederick Pursh’ s honor. Also, an additional 66 plant species in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium today do not appear in Pursh’ s flora. Not everyone was happy about this new floral manual. In 1818 John Torrey exclaimed, “I have detected more than fifty [errors] merely in the course of looking up a few plants of the neighborhood” (Ewan 1979). Pursh had his problems, namely alcoholism and perhaps a dishonest streak bom of ambition. Dr. Barton warned his brother in 1806 “drinking is his greatest failing (and God knows it is a big one), but the poor fellow, who has been well educated, has merit...” (Ewan 1979). In 1816 Dr. John W. Francis wrote “. . .perhaps Pursh is his own worst enemy: drunk morning, noon and night” (Ewan 1979). In 1838 Nutttall wrote “Pursh ‘the Cossack’... he altered the names, or published my specimens... that I intended to publish...” (Ewan 1979). Pursh later collected plants in Canada and was working on a Canadian flora when his collections were destroyed in a fire in Montreal. He died there in 1820, penniless, at the age of 46. Despite his limitations, Pursh was a man with exceptional powers of observation, organization, patience and endurance. By describing the plants of the Lewis and Clark expedition in his flora of North America, he completed the task that Dr. Barton failed to do, and that Lewis was unable to do, because of his untimely death. William Darlington praised Pursh in 1827 when he exclaimed, “the light which has been thrown upon the plants of this country by that valuable work, and the spirit of botanical research which it has excited amongst us, will forever entitle the Author to our greatest remembrance” (Ewan 1979). In 1857 Dr. Francis wrote “we want the pen to describe the labors of Pursh... His adventurous spirit, his hazardous daring, and his indomitable energy... .[we have] great regard for the benefits Pursh had conferred on American botany” (Ewan 1979). References: Cutright, Paul Russell. 1969. Lewis and Clark: Pioneering Naturalists. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. Ewan, Joseph, editor. 1979 reprint. Flora Americae Septentrionalis by Frederick Pursh. J. Cramer, Braunschweig, Germany. Moulton, Gary E., Editor. 1999. Herbarium of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Volume 12. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. Reveal, James L., Gary E. Moulton, and Alfred E. Schuyler. 1999. The Lewis and Clark Collections of Vascular Plants: Names, Types, and Comments. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 149: 1-64. Trifolium macrocephalum - Drawn and engraved by Frederick Pursh in his Flora Americae Septentrionalis (1814) -4- Spring 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) Quaking Aspen - Ecology and Restoration Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, Boise National Forest Photographs in this article are courtesy of The Aspen Project (http://www.coforst.edu/cof/fr/research/aspen/index.htm), Dr. William J. Ripple, Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University “Where the deer bound, where the trout rise, where your horse stops to slather a drink from icy water while the sun is warm on the back of your neck, where every breath you draw is exhilaration — that is where the Aspens grow. ” (Donald Culross Peattie 1950) Photo Courtesy of The Aspen Project Aspen Ecology and Distribution Perhaps no tree is as important to the view of Western landscapes as quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides). The most widespread tree in North America, quaking aspen ranges from Alaska to New England, the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, to its southern extreme in northern Mexico. Aspen extends from sea level in the boreal region to nearly 1 1,000 feet in the southern mountains. Seventy-five percent of the area occupied by aspen in western states occurs in Colorado (50%) and Utah (25%). In other areas, aspen stands are typically small patches within a matrix dominated by sagebrush steppe and conifer forests. Aspen is most abundant in the narrow elevation zone near the forest/steppe ecotone (Despain 1990). In Idaho, aspen occurs most often in areas where conifers are present. South of the Snake River, pure stands of aspen may be encountered on suitable sites in the sagebrush steppe zone (Johnson 1995). Thanks to its expansive root system, quaking aspen can survive for years, sending up sprouts when conditions are favorable. Although aspen can reproduce sexually (by seed), vegetative or clonal reproduction via sprouting occurs more frequently in the West. As a result of this vegetative reproduction, an entire grove can be made up of one individual (one clone) or aggregates of clones. With 47,000 stems covering nearly 20 acres, one aspen clone in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains is the world’s most massive known organism - estimated to be at least 10,000 years old (Madson 1996, Mitton and Grant 1996)! Because they are genetically identical, clones tend to display similar characteristics, the most notable of which are autumn leaf color and spring leaf-out. Although aspen stands generally account for only a fraction of the total landscape, they have a tremendous impact on local and regional biodiversity. A recent study in Rocky Mountain National Park found that aspen stands contributed a disproportionate amount of plant and butterfly species richness. Aspen comprised only 1.2 % of the vegetation but their stands contained 45% of all plant species in the study area. Many plant species were found only in association with aspen habitats (Chong et al. 2001). In addition, bird species diversity increases with increasing size of aspen stands (Johns 1993). Mature aspen stands have been found to support more bird species than younger stands or those being invaded by conifers (McGraw/Bergstrom 1986). To further illustrate its importance in the -5 Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) ecosystem, aspen is the preferred food of beaver, and beaver populations affect both the extent and type of wetland habitats in an area. Causes and Consequences of Aspen Decline Unfortunately, aspen stands are declining in many areas throughout the West. Estimates range from a 49% decline in Colorado to 95% in Arizona. Aspen has been reduced by as much as 95% throughout the Yellowstone Ecosystem since the late 1800’s (Kay 2001). Similar to the loss of other species-rich habitats like riparian zones, such declines have serious consequences for wildlife and plant biodiversity. Aspen is arguably a “keystone” species in the Rockies and elsewhere, so why are they disappearing from the landscape? The answer may depend on a variety of factors that have far-reaching effects on aspen and other communities. Photo Courtesy of The Aspen Project Fire , Elk and Wolves Encroachment of conifers into aspen stands is a major problem since aspens thrive on sunlight. Shade-tolerant conifers can reproduce successfully in the understory, and eventually grow to block the sun from the shade-intolerant aspens. Thus, large areas can be converted to pine, fir or spruce forests over time. Historically, fires would set back this succession to maintain healthy, thriving aspen communities. A fire might destroy all the aboveground trees (conifers and aspens alike), but the aspen rebounds by resprouting and perhaps by successful seed germination. Unfortunately, many decades of fire suppression have tipped the balance in favor of evergreens over aspen. With tender, nutritious vegetation like aspen sprouts available, the stage is set for herbivory. Elk, moose, and deer seem to find aspen irresistable. Domestic livestock can also threaten aspen regeneration. In areas with large elk populations such as Yellowstone National Park (YNP), elk browsing has been identified as significantly impacting aspen overstory recruitment (Ripple and Larsen 2000). In fact, aspen communities in the Yellowstone region experienced successful regeneration from the middle to late 1700’s (as far back as has been recorded) to the 1920’s, after which recruitment essentially ceased. To better understand the effects of herbivores on the ecosystem, we must examine predator-prey relationships. From 1904 to 1925, over 130 wolves (and probably many more) were killed in northern YNP. Once the local predator populations were decimated, aspen began its downward trend. Anyone who visited northern YNP prior to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 can recall the striking impacts to native plant communities from the vast ungulate herds. In the Canadian Rockies, increased aspen overstory recruitment has been noted in areas frequented by wolves (Dekker 1985). So, by keeping elk herds in check, wolves may actually have a positive effect on aspen! Whether its decline is due to fire suppression or excessive browsing or some other factor, the loss of aspen habitat is not irreversible - //appropriate action is taken. Hope for the Future: Aspen Restoration To arrest this disturbing decline, numerous aspen restoration projects have been initiated by agencies such as the Forest Service and National Park Service. To cite just a few examples from our region, aspen projects have been implemented or are being planned on the Boise National Forest, Sawtooth NF, northeastern Oregon’s Blue Mountains, the Wasatch- Cache NF in northern Utah, and Grand Teton National Park. Most successful aspen regeneration projects involve the use of prescribed fire and/or mechanical thinning, and usually require constructing exclosures to protect aspen stands from browsing by native ungulates or livestock. In areas with high levels of -6 Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) herbivory, promoting aspen reproduction without adequately protecting stands from browsing animals can have unintended effects such as the loss of these aspen stands altogether. Land managers need to “take action now and take action often” in their efforts to restore aspen and promote structural diversity (Campbell and Bartos 2001). Monitoring stands, as well as the success of applied treatments, is paramount. The public can help by encouraging aspen restoration projects and notifying land managers of stands that may be at risk. With continued emphasis on biodiversity and habitat restoration, my hope is that future generations will be able to enjoy the flutter of aspen leaves and the delightful mix of plants, wildlife, and color they bring. Literature Cited: Campbell, R.B. and D.L. Bartos. 2001. Aspen ecosystems: objectives for sustaining biodiversity. In: Sustaining aspen in western landscapes: symposium proceedings. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, RMRS-P-18. Chong, G.W., S.E. Simonson, T.J. Stohlgren, and M.A. Kalkhan. 2001. Biodiversity: aspen stands have the lead, but will nonnative species take over? In: Sustaining aspen in western landscapes: symposium proceedings. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, RMRS-P-18. Dekker, D.G. 1985. Elk population fluctuations and their probable causes in the Snake Indian Valley of Jasper National Park: 1970-85. Alberta Naturalist 15: 49-54. Despain, D.G. 1990. Yellowstone vegetation: consequences of environment and history in a natural setting. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. Johns, B.W. 1993. The influence of grove size on bird species richness in aspen parklands. Wilson Bulletin 105(2): 256- 264. Johnson, F. 1995. Wild trees of Idaho. University of Idaho Press. Kay, C.E. 2001. Long-term aspen enclosures in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. In: Sustaining aspen in western landscapes: symposium proceedings. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, RMRS-P- 18. Madson, C. 1996. Trees bom of fire and ice. National Wildlife 34(6): 28-35. McGraw/Bergstrom, E.L. 1986. Habitat analysis of breeding bird territories and nest sites in aspen stands in the eastern Sierra Nevada and Toiyabe Range, Central Nevada. M.S. thesis, Humboldt State University. 48 pp. Mitton, J.B. and M.C. Grant. 1996. Genetic variation and the natural history of quaking aspen. Bioscience 46( 1 ): 25-31. Peattie, D.C. 1950. A natural history of western trees. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. Ripple, W.J. and E.J. Larsen. 2000. Historic aspen recruitment, elk, and wolves in northern Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. Biological Conservation (in press). Photo Courtesy of The Aspen Project -7 - Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) Jdfexze a dead to .VoetA JdaAo fox fjfie Jdafia jY alive (Plant Society, (Znnual Meeting, dudax/, 26 ~~ Sunday, Jxdy 2d, 2662 Matted fag the Jiinm/tinnic/l G/iupted Sandpoint, Jdaha Jltark your calendar for this faut, informative, “making new friends” adventure Judeuf, Jxxfef 26— (Jbvdvx.il (Jin evening faeld tup wiit 6c offered Saturday, Jufy 27— CLnnuxd business Jlieeting Special tout of out Olrbvretum in Sandpoint tPoiluck, lunch ptovided 6g the (Kinnikinnich Chapter Clftetnovn A evening ate faiee to explore Sunday, Jafy 2d— % innihinnick Chapter (f ield 5 rip Stunning view# of Hake (Pend Oreille A abundant native plant* Overgone is invited tv join us **Jftesewatleu JDeaxdme it Wextnesdap, .May 75, 2662** We sincerely hope you wilt come ecvtly ot stag an extra dag at two tv take advantage of beautiful JVotth Jdahv, the Selkirk Aivuntains , £ake (Pend Oreille, (Priest Cake and (British Columbia ( which h just 1.5 hours north ). Sandpoint has a treasure of resorts, bed A breakfasts, motets, camping A 51V parks. (Please let us know you are coming A we will be happy tv send you a Sandpoint Visitor’s Quide. . Vote: Clfe accommodations inxdudiuy camp/tftV sites fife up card/ for Jidx/, so fetus Ae£p you made eeseeoations. (Phis wilt be a wonderful opportunity tv bring the chapters in the various parts of the state closer together. (Pfease sAaee tAis invitation uutA someone. (for more information A a reservation form, please contact: Sylvia Chatham, 1787 £ (Dufort (Rd, Sagle 32) 8386C, 208 263 2175, sylvia(a)televar.com INPS 2002 STATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION BALLOT New Officers will be announced at the Annual INPS State Field Trip and Meeting July 26 - 28, 2002 hosted by the Kinnikinnick Chapter Sandpoint, Idaho. NOMINEES President Kristin Fletcher - An environmental education consultant specializing in wildland/urban interface issues and natural history interpretation and planning, I served as state president of INPS from 1995- 1998 and was co-founder and chapter president of the Wood River Chapter from 1990-1995. I live near Pocatello in the midst of juniper and sage with my best friend Raven and 4 diabolical cats. Vice-President Cleve Davis - Cleve is a botanist for the Bureau of Land Management, Shoshone District in the Pocatello Office and is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. Cleve received a B.S. in Botany from Idaho State University and has worked for BLM for the past four years. His special interests include rare plants, natural plant communities, and proper land management. Cleve likes hiking, skiing, photography, and has been a member of Sah-Wah-Be Chapter for over three years. Secretary Kahne Jensen - Kahne has a new position with the Slate Creek Ranger Station in the Nez Perce National Forest. (We were not able to reach Kahne for more details before publication. Editor } Treasurer Steve Rust - Steve works as a plant community ecologist with Idaho Conservation Data Center, Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho. He holds bachelors’ degrees in environmental studies and botany from The Evergreen State College and University of Washington. He received a M. S. degree from the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, in ecosystem analysis. Prior to joining the Conservation Data Center in 1994, Steve worked as a Botanist and Plant Ecologist for the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and USDA Forest Service. He joined Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS), Pahove Chapter in 1994. He has served as Pahove Chapter treasurer/secretary since 1997 and as INPS treasurer since 1998. Steve was involved in conservation issues with Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) and is currently also a member of WNPS. Steve serves on the Northwest Scientific Association Board of Trustees. Please vote for one nominee in each category (check name or write in name): President: Kristin Fletcher Other (write in name) Vice-Pres.: Cleve Davis Other (write in name) Secretary Kahne Jensen Other (write in name) Treasurer Steve Rust Other (write in name) Do you approve of the proposed by-law amendment establishing an Education, Research, and Inventory Grants Committee? Yes No Fold, stamp and return (address on other side) Idaho Native Plant Society PO Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707 Fold Here First- First Class Postage Idaho Native Plant Society Elections Committee POBox 9451 Boise, ID 83707 Fold Here Second Tape Here Do Not Staple Tape Here Idaho Native Plant Society Treasurer's Report -January 2001 through December 2001 Introduction: Following is a summary of the expenditures and income of the Society during the period, January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001. A brief discussion follows the summary. Summary of Expenditures, Income, and Assets: Checking Account Summary Beginning balance (01 /0 1 /0 1 ) $847.68 Additions Chapter dues received and forwarded 23.00 Contributions 100.00 Membership dues 3086.75 RPC income 1156.11 Subtractions Board meeting expenses -273.40 Dues remittance -568.33 INPS brochure -1021.00 Operational expenses -118.92 PO Box and Bulk Mail Permit -180.00 RPC expense -1231.11 Sage Notes -1490.12 Web page maintenance -70.00 Ending balance (12/31 /0 1 $260.66 Summary of Assets Key Bank of Idaho (checking account) 260.66 UBS PaineWebber Investment Account 2610.96 US Postal Service Postage Due Trust Account 31.98 Total Assets as of 12/31 /0 1 $ 2903.60 Discussion: Income during 2001 came from four sources: membership dues, non-dues contributions, investments, and proceeds from the annual rare plant conference (see Figure 1, next page). The checking account summary (above) shows an amount for "Chapter dues received and forwarded". These funds are shown to accurately reflect the account balance as of December 31, 2001 but are not considered income and were forwarded to the respective chapter early in fiscal year 2002. INPS Treasurers Report - 2001; Page 1 of 3 The largest source of income in 2001 was annual membership dues payments (Figure 1). Figure 1. Relative distribution of 2001 income by source membership growth in 2001 was observed ii In Figure 2 the total number of individuals paying dues in 2001 and total dues revenue to INPS are summarized by chapter. Two hundred and fifty- two members paid dues in 2001 . While dues are the primary source of income for INPS, the number of new and renewing members also serves as an important indicator of how the society is functioning to meet its objectives. Sixty members joined INPS in 2001, but 57 members who paid dues in 2000 did not renew in 2001, resulting in a net gain of 1 1 members. Changes in membership varied between chapter. The greatest Pahove Chapter (Figure 3). Cash flow associated with the annual rare plant conference successively bridges each fiscal year. Registration income for the 2001 annual rare plant conference began to accrue in fiscal year 2000. Expenses and income associated with the 2002 annual rare plant conference began to accrue in fiscal year 2001. Due to variability in the flow of cash associated with the annual rare Wood River White Pine Sah-Wha-Be Pahove Kinnikjnnick Calypso No Chapter Figure 2. Total 2001 dues revenue and number of members (shown in parentheses) is summarized by chapter. Figure 3. The number of new members (bars on right side of vertical line) are compared by chapter to the number of individuals who were members in 2000 but not in 2001 (bars on left side of vertical line). Values show the net gain or loss in membership. plant conference, the 2001 checking account ledger shows a negative balance for the conference (RPC income, $ 1 180.1 1; RPC expense, $ -1231.1 1). Actual proceeds from the 2001 annual rare plant conference were $ 299.64. Though the net income from the annual rare plant conference was down in 2001, compared to previous years, the conference continued to contribute significant income to the Society (Figure 1). INPS Treasurers Report - 2001 ; Page 2 of 3 Relatively smaller, but significant sources of income to the Society in 2001 were non-dues contributions and investment income. Following the decision of the INPS Board in February 2000, an investment account with UBS PaineWebber was initiated as a combined certificate of deposit ($ 2000.00 bearing 6.45 % interest for 6 months) and a money market account ($ 500.00 bearing 6.11 % interest). When the certificate of deposit matured in May 2001, a UBS PaineWebber cash fund account offered the best secure investment opportunity. During the period May - December 2001, interest rates varied from 3.86 to 2.33 percent. As in previous years, the largest single expense during 2001 was the preparation and mailing of Sage Notes (Figure 4). In 2001 two issues of Sage Notes were produced and distributed with an average cost of $ 745.06. The average cost of Sage Notes printing and postage in previous years was $ 633.28. Figure 4. Distribution of 2001 expenses. In February 2001 the INPS Board elected to pay for the preparation and printing of a new brochure. This relatively large, one-time expense was off-set by a contribution of $ 300.00 by Pahove Chapter. The new brochure appears to have generated new memberships in the Society and is likely to be a worthwhile expenditure into years to come. Board meeting expenses resulted from the conference call which occurred on February 14, 2001. The call allowed individuals in Boise to connect with Chapter representatives around the state. Six individuals participated in the call. Other routine expenses in 2001 include the costs of maintaining the post office box located in Boise, the bulk mailing permit located in Moscow, and the web page domain license. Operational costs were incurred for postage, checking account checks, and mailing labels. INPS Treasurers Report - 2001; Page 3 of 3 Idaho Native Plant Society 2002 Proposed Budget Introduction: Following is the proposed INPS budget for January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. A series of brief notes follow. Proposed Budget Summary: Estimated Income Membership dues 2700 RPC income 250 Total estimated income 2950 Estimated expenses Board expenses -210 Annual project expenditure -250 Operating expenses -100 PO Box and Bulk Mail Permit -180 Sage Notes -2460 Total estimated expenses -3200 Summary of Estimated Assets Key Bank of Idaho 1 1 UBS PaineWebber Investment Account 2672 US Postal Service Postage Due Trust 20 Total estimated assets as of 12/31 /02 2703 Notes: Income from membership dues is estimated to increase modestly compared to 2001. Net proceeds from the annual rare plant conference are estimated as declined compared to previous years. Board expenditures are estimated as being lower than 2001, but higher than previous years. This amount will allow one or (possibly) two expeditious conference calls. Funds available for an annual project (e.g.. to support Chapter activities, research, or inventory projects) are estimated as (approximately) the checking account balance carried forward from fiscal year 2001. Operating expense is estimated to include one statewide mailing to promote annual membership dues payment. The early to mid-March mailing will be addressed to individuals that paid dues in 2001 but have not yet renewed for 2002. The cost of the post office box and bulk mail permit are fixed-rate expenses. Expenses for Sage Notes printing and postage are estimated as four issues with an average cost of $ 615.00. Improved timeliness of issues coupled with more strict adherence to the membership renewal cut- off date (April 1, 2002) will help maintain a balance between the quality and size, versus the cost, of issues. The UBS PaineWebber Investment Account is estimated as accruing 2.33 percent interest. Opportunity for increased secure investment yields may improve during fiscal year 2002. INPS Proposed Budget - 2002; Page 1 of 1 INPS Board Meeting February 13, 2002 Board members attending: Karl Holte, President Kristin Fletcher, Past President Steve Rust, Treasurer Janet Benoit, Calypso Chris Murphy, Pahove Eileen Atkisson, Kinnikinnick Juanita Lichthardt (for Sonja Lewis, White Pine) Dan Brown Rich Cossie, C Sylvia Chatburn, K (Arboretum Committee Chair) Cleve Davis, SWB Ann DeBolt, P Valerie Geertsen, P (Rare Plant Conference Chair) Karen Gray, White Pine Secretary Betsy Hammet, K Cahne Jensen Michael Mancuso, P Sarah Walker, WP Bertie Weddell, WP Others attending: The board met following the Rare Plant Conference in Boise. Juanita took the minutes of the meeting. There was no Secretary’s report. Cahne Jensen relayed the information that Leonard Lake was resigning as secretary. Meeting called to order at approx. 5:30 PM. 1) Treasurer’s budget and membership report: previously e-mailed to all Chapters. Janet questioned what was meant by “annual project” in the proposed budget. Steve answered that the goal of the annual project was to provide funds for education, small research and stewardship grants. Possibly this money has been used in the past, but not recently. It is difficult to predict the cash balance for the coming year, due to a fluctuating membership. In 2001, INPS spent more than we took in, but this included a large expenditure for brochures. 2) Web page (Valerie): We are currently getting 3 emails/day, most requesting native landscaping information and also some membership requests. The last 3 issues of Sage Notes have not been received for posting. The Society pays $35/yr for the domain name (idahonativeplants.org), but needs to allocate a $ 15/month hosting fee. Chapter newsletters can be posted on the INPS web page-mail an electronic copy to Valerie (valerie@internetoutlet.net). A motion was made and seconded to spend $ 15/month for the hosting fee for our web page; unanimous approval. 3) Moving bulk mail permit (BMP); the bulk mail permit is used to save money when mailing Sage Notes and the Rare Plant Conference mailing. It might also be used to send dues reminders, which some members have requested (Steve). Each year the BMP is INPS Board Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 2 renewed in June or July for ( see budget info ). Valerie looked into the cost of moving it from Moscow to Boise, where the Editor now resides, and calculated that it would take 2- 3 years to make up the cost (vs. non-bulk mail rates). She did not have the exact figures, but thought it would cost at least $250 and possibly as much as $500. Karl thought $250 was reasonable amount in light of a conversation with Editor Mark Shumar, but because we did not know the exact amount, we did not vote on the expenditure. Steve will ask Mark to pin down the amount. 4) Conservation committee. There is currently no chairperson or committee. White Pine Chapter has a comment committee and an RNA committee. We reviewed bylaws re: conservation committee, as well as the use of “Idaho Native Plant Society” in letters and comments to land managers/government. The bylaws allow for a Conservation Committee, but the mission statement for INPS (Article 1) does not specify conservation of native plants. This led to a discussion of the mission of INPS (Article 1), e. g., does it include advocacy? Can “educating the public” include commenting on projects that detrimentally affect native plants? Betsy commented that we must be sensitive to the fallout to agency botanists that belong to INPS. Chris proposed to amend the bylaws to specifically include conservation of native plants as an INPS mission and it seemed generally accepted by the board that this should be done. Karen pointed out that it was part of the mission statement of all of the surrounding States. Chris will draft a change to Article 1, which will be circulated to the membership for approval via Sage Notes. We asked for volunteers to form a conservation committee. Cleve Davis, Chris Murphy, and Karen Gray volunteered. There was discussion on how the committee would work- protocol, accountability etc. Finally, after much discussion, Karl appointed Cleve, Chris, and Karen to the Conservation Committee, with Cleve as Chair. Hopefully, remaining issues can better be resolved now that we have willing people on the committee. 5) Dues: The 75/25 split was discussed in terms of why the State organization portion is so high and where this money goes. Most of the state portion goes to production and mailing of Sage Notes (SN; see budget). Other expenses include conference calls for board meetings, and the web site. Annual cash flow is about even if 4 issues of SN are produced and mailed. Our surplus (in money market account) resulted from past dereliction of Sage Notes. Although there was no vote, there was a consensus that the dues split will not change for the time being. The State organization cannot afford it and it requires a bylaws change. Janet offered that the amount in our money market account does not represent a large cushion for an organization of our size. Karl: our budget should be published at least once yearly in Sage Notes. 6) The need of Chapters for project money was discussed in light of Kinnikinnick’s recent request to INPS for a grant of $1000 for their arboretum. Steve reminded us that three Chapters collect additional Chapter dues to fund Chapter activities, such as a Chapter newsletter. Ann suggested applying to other entities for grants or having fund- INPS Board Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 3 raisers. Pahove has a yearly plant sale to raise money. Eileen mentioned that Kinnikinnick has a ways and means committee that applies for grants, and mentioned two fund-raising projects (t-shirts for one) that the Chapter has done. Janet reminded us that the grants process can be daunting. The Kinnikinnick proposal was circulated around the table. The proposal is very impressive. They need the $1000 to hire a landscape architect to work on their arboretum plans. It was proposed that the $250 project money, as identified in the proposed budget, could be used to help fund Kinnikinnick's request. Steve suggested that INPS fund the entire Kinnikinnick request. Juanita noted that other Chapters could come up with similar proposals and we could not fund them all at that level, even over a period of years. Chris moved that we grant $350 to Kinnikinnick to help fund their project (approx. 1/3 of their request). Motion was seconded and unanimously approved. 7) Nominations: A slate of officers is needed for this years election in summer. Four willing candidates were nominated among those present: Kristin Fletcher (Pres.), Cleve Davis (VP), Cahne Jensen (Secretary), and Steve Rust (Treasurer). Nominations remain open. 8) Annual meeting. No annual meeting was held last year. Eileen said that the Kinnikinnick Chapter would like to host an annual meeting/field trip this year. She suggested the campground at Mineral Point on Lk. Pend Oreille, with an arboretum tour and potluck lunch on Saturday. The weekend of July 26, 27, and 28 was proposed. It was further proposed that we do a mailing by March 1st with meeting agenda, budget, these meeting minutes, a ballot, and proposed bylaws changes. 9) Grant proposal committee. Steve has drafted and is proposing a bylaws amendment to create an “Inventory, Research, and Education Grants Committee.” Motion made to submit proposed amendment to membership for approval. Unanimous. Meeting adjourned approx. 8:30 PM. INPS Board Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 3 Revision of the Idaho Native Plant Society’s Statement of Purpose Amendment of Article 1 of the By-laws At the February Idaho Native Plant Society board meeting it was decided that our statement of purpose should be modernized to better reflect the organization’s values, goals, and current activities. The current statement of purpose, as written in the by-laws, reads: ARTICLE 1 -- Purpose The purpose of the Idaho Native Plant Society is to promote interest in native plants and to collect and disseminate information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the value of the native flora and its habitats. Both in the past and recently, the INPS has participated in numerous conservation related activities including advocacy. An official “Conservation Committee” has been established for many years and is recognized (somewhat ironically) in the current by-laws. Our web page and membership brochure even includes the following statement: The Society seeks to foster an understanding and appreciation of our native flora and to preserve this rich heritage for future generations. In keeping with our mission, it is the intent of the INPS to educate its membership and the public about current conservation issues that affect Idaho's native flora and habitats. Our statement of purpose, however, makes no mention of "conservation” Clearly, our purpose is out of date, relative to our own actions and values. Moreover, the current mission statement does not accurately communicate to members, the public, land managers, or others our dedication to native plant conservation. In addition, our statement is out of step with many other Native Plant Societies in the western states and provinces. With the exception of Alaska and Idaho, they all include at least one of the following keywords in their mission/purpose statements: protect, conserve, conservation, preserve, and/or preservation. Nearly all western states, including Idaho, refer to the goal of protecting habitats or native plant communities. Most also promote public education and scientific study. Some states also include the goal of promoting the responsible use of native plants in landscaping. The board approved the development of a new, strengthened statement of purpose that both retains the meaning of the current statement and adds new wording confirming our dedication to native plant conservation. We believe that a statement of purpose should be concise, powerful, and accurate. Working with keywords from our current purpose, with input from INPS members and the board, and using other states as models, three proposals for a new INPS statement of purpose were developed. Below are the current mission statement and three examples of possible revisions. This issue will be debated more before a ballot is put forth for the membership’s vote. Please feel free to provide Board members, through your chapter representatives, you feelings about this issue, what you think of the three examples, or any new examples you would like to see considered. Current Statement of Purpose: The purpose of the Idaho Native Plant Society is to promote interest in native plants and to collect and disseminate information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the value of the native flora and its habitats. Revision Examples: 1) The purpose of the Idaho Native Plant Society is to promote interest in and conservation of native plants and plant communities, to collect and disseminate information on Idaho’s flora, and to educate the public about the value of the native flora. 2) The purpose of the Idaho Native Plant Society is to increase knowledge, appreciation, and conservation of Idaho’s native plants and their habitats through study, education, and advocacy. 3) The purpose of the Idaho Native Plant Society is to foster an understanding and appreciation of Idaho's native flora and its habitats, to encourage the responsible use of native plants in landscaping and restoration, and to motivate the public to conserve this rich natural heritage for future generations. Idaho Native Plant Society Establishment of an Education, Research, and Inventory Grants Committee Proposed Amendment to the By-Laws: Add new sub-section (4) to Article VII (Committees), Section 1. (Standing Committees) to read: 4. Education, Research, and Inventory Grants Committee - The committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer of the Society who will nominate three (3) active members to serve on the committee with annual approval of the Board of Directors. The committee will solicit grant proposals by announcing proposal deadlines and selection criteria in the Society's newsletter. The grant solicitation announcement shall occur so that the Society membership receives the announcement at least 30 days prior to the deadline for submitting grant proposals. The Education, Research, and Inventory Grants Committee will review grant proposals and recommend funding decisions to the Board of Directors for approval. The annual grant solicitation and selection cycle will generally begin in the Fall months and proceed with sufficient timeliness to adequately support early spring education, research, and inventory projects. Proposal submitted by: Steve Rust, INPS Treasurer February 1 1, 2002 Spring 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ♦♦♦ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) {Stay tuned for Bertie Weddell’s reply to the following in the next issue. Editor} Charles Geyer Reconsidered Thomas R. Cox, Professor Emeritus, San Diego State University In recent months Charles A. Geyer (bom Karl Andreas Geyer) has received repeated attention in the pages of Sage Notes (Weddell 2000; Gray 2001). As both a student of Geyer and a professional historian, I believe the two works involved deserve comment, especially the essay by Bertie Weddell, who paints Geyer as a champion of Manifest Destiny whose vision “left no room for Native Americans, whom he viewed with little sympathy.” Dr. Weddell also faults Geyer for championing farming and pastoralism for the Nez Perce, noting that these were at odds with the tribe’s traditional hunting and gathering and “would lead to profound changes in the flora that he so assiduously collected.” These judgments misread Geyer and ignore the realities of the times. Far from being a champion of America’s so-called Manifest Destiny, Geyer, a native of Saxony, was its puzzled observer. He could not understand why Americans were intent upon moving to the Far West when there was so much good land still available in the Mississippi Valley, land which, he pointed out, was much closer to the rest of the country and to potential markets (Geyer 1846). Having traveled west on the Oregon Trail in the year of the first great migration over it, Geyer could hardly have ignored the American zeal for Manifest Destiny, however to describe something hardly makes one a supporter of it. Nor is the fact that Geyer failed to foresee the damage pastoralism could do to native species and ecosystems a valid criticism. To fault Geyer for not foreseeing the havoc that excessive grazing would eventually do is to fall victim to presentism. Those engaging in this basic historical fallacy expect people to see things in the context of, or with the values of, a later age and judge them accordingly; this is not legitimate, for people can only operate within the context of their times and the knowledge possessed therein. Dr. Weddell can be expected to denounce the impact of too many cattle, put on land too early, and left too long; in all fairness, Charles Geyer cannot, for those were not problems of his time and place nor much addressed by the knowledge of the age. The charge that Geyer was antipathetic to or lacking in sympathy for American Indians also misreads the evidence. Geyer did not view all Indians as if they were the same. He clearly admired the Coeur d’Alene, with whom he spent an extended stay and had good rapport — this in spite of the fact that many observers considered the tribe aloof and hostile to intruders (Geyer 1847). Geyer was not speaking of all Indians in describing his reception at a Spokane village — a description that Dr. Weddell quotes to tar him with the anti-Indian brush. He was describing his reception at one particular village and his subsequent experience with a single resident thereof. Indeed, it should be noted that Geyer’ s views of the Spokane were not his alone; they had a negative image among neighboring tribes — whose folklore even included tales explaining why the Spokane were as they were — and among fur traders. Similarly, calling the Nez Perce haughty and insolent, as Geyer did, is to see them in the same light as many other early observers, both native and white. As the largest, most powerful tribe in the area, the Nez Perce were rightly proud of their preeminence and would probably have welcomed the terms Geyer applied to them. Political correctness aside, statements which are today viewed as insensitive or hostile cannot legitimately be considered evidence of racism, or even a lack of sympathy, when expressed in the context of times a century and a half ago. Dr. Weddell’s claim that championing agriculture for the Nez Perce and other tribes showed Geyer’ s lack of sympathy for them is equally indefensible. This conclusion seemingly results from an historical failing as egregious as presentism: taking things out of context to buttress views that are actually not supported by the evidence. The overriding problem faced by Indians during the period was maintaining their land in the face of white incursions. A long history of loss of Indian lands to whites demonstrated that American settlers did not consider seasonal hunting and fishing and a migratory lifestyle as establishing a legitimate claim to land. Only permanent occupancy and use (read agriculture) did so. Thus, in urging farming and grazing for the area’s Indians, Geyer and the Rev. Henry Spalding, the missionary to the Nez Perce who actually joined Geyer in some of his collecting, were advocating the sole approach that seemed likely to protect their lands from avaricious settlers — and at the same time, they thought, raising the Indians’ standard of living. -9 Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) Furthermore, Geyer’s comments on agriculture must be considered in the light of his experience at Tshimakain (Spokane) mission. Geyer spent considerable time there and grew critical of the approach of the resident missionaries, Elkanah and Mary Walker and Cushing and Myra Eells. In Geyer’s words, unlike those at Tshimakain, Spalding “boldly left off the absurd custom of teaching the Indians to pray, before endeavoring to fill his empty stomach....” Instead, Spalding taught that they “must acquire property to become independent of hunting, and that property must be realized by rearing domestic animals and tilling the land” (Geyer 1847). To Spalding and Geyer, such a course seemed the only practical way to prevent loss of the tribe’s lands to whites, a way much more promising than the evangelistic approach of the Walkers and Eellses. Indeed, it should be noted that pastoralism was not something new to the area’s tribes, which had acquired horses around 1730 and gradually built up sizable herds. Nor was agriculture new, being practiced to a limited degree by the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Flatheads, and others well before the arrival of either Geyer or the missionaries. Thus, Spalding and Geyer were encouraging an emphasis on one element of local Indian culture, rather than introducing foreign practices at odds with it. Dr. Weddell’s list of additional readings is puzzling. Two of the three studies listed are irrelevant to Geyer, involving as they do places he never visited (Cronon’s book deals with New England; that by Wester’s with the Yakama). By contrast, works that might have given the reader a more balanced view of the man and his accomplishments go unmentioned (and uncited in her notes). These include: Frederick V. Coville, “Added Botanical Notes on Carl A. Geyer,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, 42 (1941): 323-24 Thomas R. Cox, “Charles A. Geyer, Pioneer Botanist of Upper Oregon,” Idaho Yesterdays, 43 (1999): 11-32 Clifford M. Drury, “Botanist in Oregon in 1843-44 for Kew Gardens, London,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, 41 (1940): 183 Susan Delano McKelvey, Botanical Exploration of the Trans-Mississippi West (Jamaica Plain, N.Y.: Arnold Arboretum, 1955), 676-99 H. G. Reichenbach, “Charles Andreas Geyer,” Hooker’s Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany, 7 (1855): 181-83 [Sir William Jackson Hooker], “Collection of Mr. Geyer’s Plants Gathered in the Upper Missouri, the Oregon Territory, and the Intervening Portion of the Rocky Mountains,” London Journal of Botany, 1 (1848): 65-79, 206-257; continued in Hooker’s Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany, 3 (1848): 287-300; 5 (1850): 257-65; 7 (1852): 371-78; and 8 (1853): 16- 19 J. Orin Oliphant, “The Botanical Labors of the Reverend Henry H. Spalding,” Washington Historical Quarterly, 25 (1934): 93-102 Certainly Geyer had his faults. He was self- serving, something of a prevaricator, took advantage of others, and shamelessly broke his word when it served his interests. Many people with whom he had dealings came to dislike or at least distrust him. Among others, these included George Thorbum (Geyer’s first employer in the United States), the Walkers, John C. Fremont, George Engelmann, Asa Gray, and perhaps even Sir William J. Hooker. But whatever his personal failings, Geyer was more than just another botanical collector. He worked in an area largely untouched previously, finding a number of new species and collecting some 600 separate species in all. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Geyer gave considerable attention to ethnobotany and, anticipating the basic ecological concept, viewed plants as parts of natural communities, not just individual species. As Karen Gray notes in her fine summary of early views on grasslands and fire, he misinterpreted what fire actually did to the bunchgrasses of the Palouse steppe (Gray 2001, p. 14). But while he erred as to its real impact, unlike David Douglas who preceded him in the area, Geyer recognized that the Indian practice of annual burning to “green up” the range had a profound effect on Palouse grasslands. Moreover, he was a perceptive observer of the Pacific Northwest at a pivotal point in its history, one who was able to view both the area’s Indian and white societies from the vantage point of an outsider. - 10- Spring 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ♦> A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) In the final analysis, while Geyer deserves criticism, especially for his character flaws, labeling him a champion of Manifest Destiny lacking in sympathy for Indians and their way of life is to badly misread both the man and the times. There were plenty of Americans around who did have the hostility, or at least insensitivity to Indian ways, that Dr. Weddell attributes to Geyer, but the Saxon botanist was not one of them. Literature Cited Geyer, C. A. 1846. Notes on the Vegetation and General Character of the Missouri and Oregon Territories, Made during a Botanical Journey from the State of Missouri Across the South-Pass of the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific, during the Years 1843 and 1844. London Journal of Botany 5: 198- 201. Geyer, C.A. 1847. Notes on the Vegetation and General Character of the Missouri and Oregon Territories, Made during a Botanical Journey from the State of Missouri Across the South-Pass of the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific, during the Years 1843 and 1844. London Journal of Botany 6: 289- 97,517-19. Gray, K. 2001. Early Historical Accounts of Grasslands and Fire. Sage Notes 23 (spring 2001): 13-17. Weddell, B. 2000. Attitudes of a Pioneer Botanist: A Note on Charles Geyer (1809-1853). Sage Notes 22 (spring 2000): 7- 8. Joseph F. Duft: 1935 - 2001 By Ann DeBolt Joseph F. “Joe” Duft was a charter member of INPS and instrumental in its formation, direction, function, and outreach for nearly twenty years. He served in various positions on the board (president, vice president, newsletter editor), and was always an active member. Joe was one of the first people I met upon moving to Boise in October 1986. It was during an INPS bitterbrush planting field trip following the 200,000 acre Squaw Butte fire. Even though the society was ten years old at that time, Joe was still as committed and active as ever. Joe passed away at his home in Alamogordo, New Mexico on November 20, 2001, after nearly a year- long battle with cancer. He was bom in North Dakota on October 16, 1935, but lived on a Minnesota farm during most of his youth. Joe was interested in photography, nature, and bird watching even as a young boy. It was a high school teacher that encouraged him to attend the University of Montana, where he earned a forestry degree with a minor in wildlife management. Joe’s first job was with the state of Utah in fire management. It was cut short when he was drafted into the army for two years, but all was not lost since one of those years was in Greece. Upon his discharge, Joe was hired by the Bureau of Land Management as a fire control officer in Winnemucca. After a three year Nevada tour, he transferred to the recently opened Boise Interagency Fire Center in 1966. One short month later, Joe began dating his wife-to-be, Maxine. It was at a Halloween party where they became engaged, and in January they were married. Joe is survived by Maxine and his four children: Carolyn (bom 1971), Cindy (bom 1973), Christine (bom 1974), and Steven (bom 1975), two grandchildren, and a sister. Joe retired from the fire center in January 1986, at which time he became even more immersed in photography. Joe created an extensive photographic library of Idaho and intermountain plant species, all meticulously organized and databased. A selection of these photos were beautifully incorporated into “Alpine Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains”, which Joe coauthored with Bob Moseley in 1989. Photographs from this collection will also illustrate a forthcoming riparian plant handbook by Elzinga, Rosentreter, and Hudak. Joe established herbaria, photographic libraries, and developed species lists for Bruneau Dunes and Ponderosa Pine state parks, taught numerous Community Education classes on landscaping with natives and wildflower identification, and created a native plant garden at his home. He was always generous in sharing both his knowledge and plant materials with friends and society members. In the mid-1990s, Joe’s interest turned to water gardening and he helped found the Idaho Water Garden Society. He participated in that society with the same level of commitment, again serving as newsletter editor, board member, arranging water garden tours, and in establishment of a water lily collection at Kathryn Albertson Park. Joe and Maxine relocated to Alamogordo, NM in 1997, where Joe immediately became involved with the native plant society, even serving as the state vice president. He took master gardener classes to increase his familiarity with that region’s species, and began volunteering at Oliver Lee State Park, where he established a park herbarium. In conjunction with - 11 - Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) the native plant society, Joe designed and planted a Chihuauan Desert garden, which will be renamed in his honor. Joe left behind an unpublished encyclopedia of water gardening, which Maxine hopes will be championed to completion some day. As you can see, he also left behind a most admirable list of accomplishments, all completed through his supremely dedicated spirit of volunteerism. We will miss you Joe! Chapter News Calypso Chapter Field Trips 2002: Tubbs Hill - 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 20, 2002, rain or shine. Meet at the EAST entrance by the marina. There is plenty of paved parking. Take 1 1th street south from Sherman to the lake, turn right to the parking area which is actually on 10th street. It is called the 1 1th street entrance. Calypso member and local authoress, Peggy Faust, will have a book signing for her book “Wildflowers of the Inland Northwest” ISBN 0-9643647-6-X at Hastings, 101 Best Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, beginning at noon of that day. Q'emiln Trails - 1:00 p.m., Sunday, May 19, 2002. Meet at Q’emiln Park Trail System trail head. From Post Falls, take Spokane Street south across the river. Turn right at the park and go west to the end of the park, turn right to the trail head parking lot. There is a wooden sign with a map of the trail system there. We will have trail system maps and plant lists for walk participants. This is a fun walk and very easy. In case of rain, the walk will be rescheduled for the next Sunday. Coming Attractions to the Local Area North Idaho Mycological Association meeting - 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 4, 2002 at the Coeur d’Alene Spokesman Review Office, 608 Northwest Boulevard. Program will be Suzanne DiGiacomo on botany and its association with mushrooms. For more information go to www.nicon.org/himna/newslet.htm. Arbor Day celebrations and Kathleen Avenue tree planting project. Saturday, April 27, 2002. Sponsored by the City of Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Department of Transportation. For information call Karen Haskew, Coeur d’Alene City Forester (769-2266). White Pine Chapter White Pine Chapter Field Trips - 9:30 a.m., Saturday April 27 and May 1 1, 2002, field trip to Kamiak Butte County Park. For information contact Karen Adams at: adamsk@wsunix.wsu.edu or (509) 334-1003. Kinnikinnick Chapter Keeping pace with last year’s active agenda, the Sandpoint-based Kinnikinnick Chapter is off to a fast start in 2002. Last year ended with a successful Holiday gathering in December, an annual event at the home of Gretchen Hellar, our Kinnikinnick president throughout 1998, the year we joined the INPS. Three monthly meetings began 2000, all featuring interesting speakers. The headlines on our monthly “Kinnikinnick Journal” pretty well indicate the subjects covered: “ Wildlife Habitats Are The Subject On January 26h"\ “ Native Plants Play Featured Role In Mythology Of Many Native Peoples and ‘Two Speakers Will Address Need To Protect Native Plants On State Lands". Now, in the fourth month of 2002, the Chapter is looking forward to its annual Arbor Day commemoration at our North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum on April 26th. As in 2001, this will be the City of Sandpoint’s official Arbor Day event, complete with mayor’s proclamation, guided tours of Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) the Arboretum, conifer-identification walkabouts, and distribution of free seedlings to all in attendance. ANNUAL MEETING OF INPS TO BE HELD IN SANDPOINT DURING LATE JULY Looking ahead, monthly Kinnikinnick meetings will be held on the fourth Saturday of both May and June, while a series of field trips will take members on several interesting outings throughout the spring and summer. These began with our early-April “first-plants-of-spring” walk along the Pend Oreille River west of Sandpoint. Two more are planned in May; and another in June. Such field trips also replace monthly meetings as the featured events during July and August, with at least one of these being held during the Annual Meeting of the INPS, scheduled for Sandpoint on the weekend of July 26 - 28. Speaking of the INPS Annual Meeting, please look elsewhere in this issue of Sage Notes for our chapter’s official invitation. It invites you to “Blaze a Trail to North Idaho!” in time to attend the INPS meeting on the last weekend in July. In addition to our INPS events, there’s much to see and enjoy in the Sandpoint area: Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, the “Wild Selkirks” mountain range that extends northward into nearby British Columbia (whose border is only 75 minutes north of Sandpoint). We look forward to seeing you here! So, let us know you’re interested and we’ll send you a Sandpoint Visitor’s Guide! Pahove Chapter In mid-February, Pahove hosted another successful Idaho Rare Plant Conference. Over 70 attendees shared their valuable information on the status of our rare flora. Members of the White Pine Chapter organized an educational special topics session on the ecology and conservation of the Palouse Prairie. Dr. Steve Brunsfeld, from the University of Idaho, was our banquet speaker who eloquently explained the evolution of the Clearwater flora. Led by Barb Heller, we also continued work on a native plant landscaping plan for a bird viewing area at the MK Nature Center. Volunteers will assist with planting this spring. Plans for additional native plant landscaping themes, such as sagebrush-steppe, dry conifer forest, and moist conifer forest, will be developed this spring. We will also be finalizing a list of native plants suitable for landscaping and xeriscaping. Other upcoming activities include our annual Native Plant Sale on April 20th and foothill wildflower walks. In June, we will hopefully be hosting Carole Rubin, author of “How to get your lawn off grass, a North American guide to turning off the water tap and going native” (Harbour Publishing). The book features color photographs of native plant gardens and yards from every Floristic Province in North America. Sah-Wah-Be Chapter Folks interested in native plants from Ashton to Franklin, from Way an to Aberdeen are welcome to contact Sah-Wah-Be Chapter president, Ruth Moorhead at moOrruth@RuthMoorhead.net or at 208-233-5011 to learn what outings the group has planned. - 13 - Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) News and Notes Native Plant Conservation Campaign The California Native Plant Society and the Center for Biological Diversity have initiated the Native Plant Conservation Campaign (NPCC). Their goal is to form a national network of native plant societies, botanical gardens, and other plant conservation organizations for the purpose of information exchange and the creation of a strong national voice to advocate for native plant conservation. Specifically, they aim for: • improved staffing and funding for Federal botany programs • stronger Federal laws for conservation of rare plants • prevention and control of infestation by invasive exotic plants • use of local natives in restoration • increased funding and support for plant science research and education In addition, a scientific advisory committee of professional ecologists and botanists will be formed. The goal of the NPCC is to increase coordination and communication among individuals, organizations and policymakers working to conserve native plant species and communities. Through this process, the NPCC will raise awareness of the importance of, and threats to, native plant species and communities among public, media, legislators, agency leaders, and conservation groups. The strategy of the NPCC is to create and disseminate information demonstrating the inadequacy of Federal resources allocated to plant conservation. They will directly advocate for more funding and staffing for institutional botany programs, education, and conservation projects. The NPCC will also work to improve laws (such as the Endangered Species Act) and policies affecting conservation of native plant species and imperiled plant communities. In addition, they will educate plant conservation advocates on how to better understand and use endangered species acts and other environmental laws. For more information visit: www.cnps.org or www.sw-center.org Conferences . . . and More Conferences Weeds Across Borders May 1-2, 2002 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum “A Canadian, Mexican, U.S.A. conference about weed issues in transportation corridors and the lands they run through.” Featuring technical sessions on weed prevention and management, research, and ecological restoration, as well as a field trip. For registration materials and other information call 520-883-1380 x 133 or email at borderweeds@desertmuseum.org Spring-fed Wetlands: Important Scientific and Cultural Resources of the Intermountain Region May 7-9, 2002 Las Vegas, Nevada Sponsored by the Desert Research Institute Workshops will discuss the scientific and cultural values of springs and include presentations of research and management issues regarding ecology, hydrology, paleohistory, and cultural uses. The conference includes a field trip to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. For more information and registration forms visit: http://wetlands.dri.edu Go plant a native, non-genetically modified tree on Arbor Day, April 26th! August is the month for some exciting botany and plant ecology conferences! Make your plans now. Here are some upcoming conferences of interest: Spring 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (1) Botany 2002 - Botany in the Curriculum: Integrating Research and Teaching August 2-7, 2002 Pyle Conference Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison Annual Scientific Meeting: Presentations of Scholarly Work via Workshops and Field Trips For more information visit: http://www.botany2002.org/ Sponsored by the Botanical Society of America Special Forum on Botanical Education and Outreach (the following excerpt is from the Botanical Society of America website) "...Teaching students about plant biology is as critical to the future of the field as is research and must take its proper place as an equally laudatory endeavor for botanists. Equally vital are activities that communicate the excitement of plant biology to students and teachers involved in K-12 education and to the general public... " This passage from the Botany for the Next Millennium Report (BSA, 1995) emphasizes the important role of education and outreach, at all levels. However, there continues to be a reduction in the number of Botany courses taught at the undergraduate level, many Botany Departments and programs have been eliminated nationwide, and the National Research Council no longer recognizes Botany as a valid graduate education program. Despite this, the global significance of plants continues to grow. It is therefore vital that botanists and their professional societies work to ensure that plants are represented in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, as well as in science outreach initiatives. To that end, the Botany 2002 conference will include a new Forum that specifically focuses on undergraduate education and related outreach. K-12 teachers will also have the opportunity to participate. In addition to hands-on workshops focusing on undergraduate topics, several workshops will be specifically targeted for K-12 teachers. A Convocation: Understanding & Restoring Ecosystems August 4-9, 2002 Tucson Convention Center & Concert Hall and the adjacent Radisson Hotel, Tucson, Arizona Society for Ecological Restoration’s 14th Annual International Conference Held Jointly with the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting “This shared gathering will celebrate a common purpose the two societies share — using ecological knowledge in the solution of practical environmental problems . . . The meeting will blend a mix of shared and organization-specific symposia, contributed papers, poster sessions, workshops, discussions, special evening events, field trips, social gatherings, and business meetings.” Session Themes: Arid Lands Restoration; Art & Writing in Restoration; Cross-Border Issues; Indigenous Peoples’ Work in Restoration; Invasive Species Control; Philosophy & Ethics in Restoration; Pollinator Restoration; Public Lands Restoration; Restoration Using Fire; River & Riparian Restoration; Success Criteria & Monitoring; Water & Land-Use Planning; and more. For more information visit: www.esa.org/tucson The Twelfth Wildland Shrub Symposium: Seed and Soil Dynamics in Shrubland Ecosystems August 12 - 16, 2002 Student Union, University of Wyoming, Laramie Sponsored by the Shrub Research Consortium and the University of Wyoming For registration and agenda information visit: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/renewableresources/ Sage Notes is published four times a year in February, May, September, and December by the Idaho Native Plant Society, incorporated since 1977, under the laws of the State of Idaho. Editor, Mark Shumar; Production, Juanita Lichthardt; Contributing Editors, Nancy Cole, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, and Chris Murphy. Newsletter ads: personal ads $2; commercial ads $5 for 1/8 page, $8 for 1/4 page, $15 for 1/2 page, and $25 for full page. Ads should be sent with payment. Submissions: members and others are invited to submit material for publication. Articles in any form, even hand-written, are welcome, as is art work. Please provide a phone number in case there are questions. Material will not be returned. Send submissions directly to the editor, Mark Shumar, 6017 W Randolph Dr., Boise, ID 83709, or . Submission deadlines are January 1, April 1, August 1, and November 1. Officers: President, Karl Holte; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Leonard Lake; Treasurer, Steve Rust; Member-at-large, Loring Jones; Past President, Kristin Fletcher; Conservation Committee Chair, VACANT; Newsletter Editor, Mark Shumar. Calypso Chapter, P.O. Box 331, Careywood, ID 83809. President, VACANT; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Phil Hruskocy; Treasurer, Janet Benoit; Newsletter, Peggy Faust. Kinnikinnick Chapter, 1248 South Center Valley Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864. President, Eileen Atkisson; Vice President, Pat Ramsey; Secretary, Sylvia Chatbum; Treasurer, Patricia Stevens; Founder, Lois Wythe; Past President, Valle Novak; Newsletter, Michael and Phil Franklin; INPS board representative, Phil Franklin; Arboretum, Sylvia Chatbum; Education, Eileen Atkisson; Field trips, Nancy Low; Grant writing, Dorothy Modafferi; Membership, Pat Ramsey; Programs, Valle Novak; Ways and Means, Phil Franklin. Pahove Chapter, PO Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. President, Chris Murphy; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary-Treasurer, Steve Rust. Sah-Wah-Be Chapter, 1646 Kinghom Rd., Pocatello, ID 83201. President, Ruth Moorhead; Vice President, Brian Schuetz; Secretary, Barbara Nicholls; Treasurer, Harry Giesbrecht; Board Representative, Karl Holte. White Pine Chapter, PO Box 8481, Moscow, ID 83843. President, Sonja Lewis; Vice President, Mary Conitz; Secretary, Karen Adams; Treasurer, Jonalea Tonn; Publicity, Elisabeth Brackney; Newsletter, Nancy Miller; Past President, Dennis Ferguson. Wood River Chapter, PO Box 3093, Hailey, ID 83333. President, VACANT; Vice President, Joanne Vassar; Secretary-Treasurer; Jo Ann Robbins; Member-at-large, Carol Blackburn. The Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS) is dedicated to promoting interest in native plants and plant communities and to collecting and sharing information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the values of the native flora and its habitats. In keeping with our mission, it is the intent of the INPS to educate its membership and the public about current conservation issues that affect Idaho’s native flora and habitats. Membership is open to anyone interested in our native flora. Send dues to Steve Rust, Treasurer, 1201 N. 24th, Boise, ID 83702, and all correspondence to INPS, Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Website address: IdalioNativePlants.org. Category . Patron . Individual Household * . Student . Senior Citizen Annual Dues, payable Jan. 1 $30 $10 $15 $7 $7 Name Address City/State Zip Telephone Chapter affiliation? (check one) Calypso (Coeur d’Alene; please include $6 newsletter dues) Kinnikinnick (Sandpoint; please include $6 for Kinnikinnick Journal) Pahove (Boise) Sah-Wah-Be (SE Idaho) White Pine (Moscow) Wood River (Ketchum-Sun Valley; please include $7 chapter dues) None. Those who do not live near a chapter are encouraged to join. We can put you in touch with other members in your area, and can coordinate with you on any state level activities you may wish to be involved in. * Household memberships are allocated two votes. Idaho Native Plant Society P.O. Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Boise, ID Permit No. 688 LUESTERT. MbKIZ library APR 2 4 2002 NEW YORK botanical GARDEN New York Botanical Garden Library G558 Serials & Exchng. Bronx, NY 10458-5126 ... promoting interest in Idaho’s native flora. Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) Annual Meeting and Field Trip: July 26, 27 and 28, 2002 Come To Lunch At The North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum In Sandpoint On Saturday, July 27“. It’s Free Well, it might cost a few dollars to get here. . . but the lunch is free: a pot luck picnic furnished entirely by Kinnikinnick members and set up amidst the century- old conifers and varied exhibits of our native plant arboretum in Sandpoint’ s Lakeview Park. The colorless map above doesn’t do justice to the arboretum, but it gives you an idea of the space it covers; and the list of exhibits indicates the various habitats we strive to duplicate here. But there is more to this INPS weekend than a free lunch at the North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum! Come early if you can - field trips on Friday and Sunday. There will be at least one field trip on Friday afternoon or evening, and we are definitely planning one or more field trips on Sunday! As reservations are made, recreational events will be added to accommodate everyone. For more information about the annual meeting itself, see Kinnikinnick Chapter News inside this issue of Sage Notes. If you have yet to make your plans, let us help! Want to camp 111 ^ out or stay at a Sandpoint hotel/motel/b&b? Let us know your ^ view Df whitebark Pine, wishes and we will respond with information, just as detailed as you Perkins 2 would like. Want to know about all the activities for visitors to this Response to “Charles Geyer Reconsidered,” area - not only in Sandpoint itself, but up on Schweitzer Mountain Bertie Weddell..... 6 and across the lake at Hope or Clark Fork? Even across the ^ouncfment 8 Canadian border, only 60 miles north. Michael Mancuso 9 For help or information Of any kind, call or write now! Conservation News, Chris Murphy 1 1 Campsites and other accommodations fill up early in July; so, let us Chapter News 12 help you. Whatever assistance/information you seek: Contact: News and Notes 14 Sylvia Chatburn / email: s vl via @ televar.com / 1787 Dufort Rd., Sagle, ID 83860/ (208) 263-2175 In this Issue: An Ecologist’s View of Whitebark Pine, Dana Perkins 2 Response to “Charles Geyer Reconsidered,” Bertie Weddell 6 Annual INPS Meeting Announcement 8 Results of the 2002 Rare Plant Conference, Michael Mancuso 9 Conservation News, Chris Murphy 1 1 Chapter News 12 News and Notes 14 HABITATS 3DRYFORE5THABnAT 1 PRY ROCK HABITAT } INTERIOR RAIH FOREST 1 MEADOW HABITAT ASF’EN CROVE LARCH CROVE SO meditation crve - HI PCCKWU. 1 Hoist F0RE5THWAT n wilp nEnmM* 1 RIRRRIAN HAfcnAT 13 T&UlkJ FOREST 1 5UBALFTNE HABITAT H KJHHIK1NNICK BERA\ d {Articles contributed to Sage Notes reflect the views of the authors and are not an official position of the Idaho Native Plant Society. } - 1 - Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) An Ecologist’s View of Whitebark Pine Dana Perkins, Ph.D. Research Ecologist, USDA-FS, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 1401 Gekeler Lane, La Grande, Oregon. Take a walk along the edge of my favorite place and you’ll find yourself at upper treeline. The views of clouds and rock are the best. So are the silhouettes of whitebark pines ( Pinus albicaulis). Trees with upswept branches move in the wind. Shrub-like trees cling to the walls of cirque basins. Snags with hues of gray, brown, and gold draw my attention and from a distance are stark sentinels of the skyline. Whitebark pines are among the most pleasing sights to those who view mountain ridges, and to those who amble through cirque basins and subalpine forests. Unfortunately an exotic fungus from Europe, fire suppression, and mountain pine beetle, are reducing populations region wide. Restoration efforts are beginning in the northwest. This is timely for mortality rates are high and this is a slow-growing tree. The purpose of this article is to outline the ecology of the species, the threats to its persistence, and to direct you to further reading. Whitebark pine is a slow growing, long-lived, stone pine (subgenus Strobus, section Strobus, subsection Cembrae ) of high-elevation forests and timberlines of the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. It is one of five stone pines worldwide and the only stone pine in North America. The northern distribution limit is the Canadian Coastal Mountains of British Columbia and its southern limit is in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains. The distribution of whitebark pine is split between the inland Rocky Mountain Ranges and the Coastal Ranges of the Cascades, and Sierra Nevada. It occupies harsh, cold sites characterized by rocky, poorly developed soils and snowy, wind-swept exposures (Amo and Hoff 1989). Throughout its range, whitebark pine may occur as a climax alpine species, including a krummholz form in communities above treeline, or as a serai species or climax co-dominant with subalpine fir ( Abies lasiocarpa). Other common tree associates in the northern Rockies are lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ), Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii), and less commonly mountain hemlock C Tsuga mertensiana) and alpine larch ( Larix lyallii ) (Amo and Hoff 1989). It is generally considered intolerant to moderately intolerant of shade. Whitebark pine seeds are not wind dispersed; they develop in indehiscent cones that are harvested by Clark’s nutcracker ( Nucifraga columbiana ). Nutcrackers pry open the cone scales with their bills and slip seeds into a pouch under their tongues for transport. They cache or consume seeds and those not retrieved from caches may germinate and become established as seedlings (Lanner 1980, Tomback 1978, 1982, Hutchins and Lanner 1982). Corvids, such as Clark’s nutcracker and other Nucifraga spp., have evolved with stone pines over centuries and are critical components in pine regeneration dynamics, ultimately responsible for the geographic range, spacing, successional status, and genetics of the stone pines (Hutchins and Lanner 1982, Lanner 1982, Tomback 1982, Lanner 1996). Whitebark pine seeds provide a high fat, high-energy food source for many animal species. Red squirrels ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) harvest cones and store them in middens on the forest floor. Black bears ( Ursus americanus ) and the endangered grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos horriblis) raid these middens for the energy-rich food that the seeds provide (Kendall 1983, Mattson and Jonkel 1990, Pease and Mattson 1999). Because of the dependence of many animal species on this food source, whitebark pine is considered a keystone species of the subalpine forests (Lanner 1996, Tomback et al. 2001). Whitebark pine is also valued for watershed protection (Fames 1990). In the cold, semi-arid mountain ranges of the northern Rocky Mountains most annual precipitation falls as snow and the greatest amounts occur at high elevations. The physical position of trees on the landscape and the up-swept branches of the crown provide shade to delay snowmelt and to retain snowdrifts Until early to mid-summer. Worldwide, whitebark pine is sixteenth on the longest lived tree species list (OLDLIST: www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm) after Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) (Brown 1996). The oldest known whitebark pine exceeds 1275 years in age and occurs in the mountains of central Idaho (Perkins and Swetnam 1996). Tree ring chronologies have been constructed from this and other old living trees and from dead logs and snags (Perkins © Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College -2- Summer 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) and Swetnam 1996). We are now using these tree ring chronologies to reconstruct more than a thousand years of seasonal temperature. The largest whitebark pine on the National Register of Big Trees also occurs in south-central Idaho: it exceeds 27.5 feet in circumference at breast height (4.5 ft above ground) and was discovered by Dave Lee, now deceased, former Wilderness Ranger of the USDA-Forest Service. These ancient and magnificent trees are well suited for the study of past climate and global change. Unfortunately, all is not well with whitebark pines in the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Whitebark pine is at risk of severe population decline over much of its northern distribution (Amo 1986, Amo and Hoff 1989, Keane et al. 1990, 1994, Tomback et al. 2001). Several interacting factors are recognized as causing rates of mortality that are higher than establishment. These include an introduced fungus from Eurasia, white pine blister rust ( Cronartium ribicola)\ infestation of whitebark pine by its natural mortality agent, mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, Coleoptera: Scolytidae); and successional replacement by shade tolerant species as a result of fire suppression (Amo and Hoff 1989, Keane et al. 1990, Morgan and Bunting 1990, Kendall and Amo 1990, Keane and Amo 1993). The most serious threat to the persistence of whitebark pine is white pine blister rust. This non-native fungus was found on both coasts of the United States and Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century. Several authors discuss blister rust biology and pine hosts (e.g., Hoff et al. 1980, Hoff and Hagle 1990, Hoff et al. 1992, Tomback et al. 1995, Smith 1997, Smith and Hoffman 2000, McDonald and Hoff 2001). The fungus enters the needle through the stomates, kills the foliage turning it orange (called flagging) and continues to kill the tree from outside in or top down toward the branch and stem. Thus the reproductive ability of the tree is lost early because the infection frequently starts on the cone bearing branches of the crown. Whitebark pine populations in northwestern Montana showed 42% mortality rate over a 20-year measurement period (Keane and Amo 1993). The threat of local extinction of whitebark pine from blister rust is possible in the mesic northwestern range of whitebark pine including Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, in part because humid weather enhances fungus spore dissemination (Amo and Hoff 1989, Tomback et al. 2001). It may be only a matter of time and favorable weather conditions before it causes significant mortality in the southern and eastern range of the pine’s distribution. Blister rust affects limber pine ( Pinus flexilis) as well and new incidences are increasingly being reported. Rust resistance mechanisms have been identified in individual whitebark pines as they were in western white pine ( Pinus monticola ) (McDonald and Hoff 2001). Restoration efforts concentrate on identification of mst resistant individuals, and the use of their offspring for out planting (Tomback et al. 2001). Historically, the principal mortality agent of whitebark pine was the mountain pine beetle (Ciesla and Fumiss 1975, Amo 1986, Amo and Hoff 1989, Bartos and Gibson 1990). As a cambial-feeding insect of western pines, it is recognized as an aggressive forest insect responsible for tree mortality across large areas, and as an integral component of forest ecosystem dynamics for its role in stand thinning and redistribution of resources for tree regeneration (Amman 1977, Peterman 1978, Romme et al. 1986). Mountain pine beetles devastated whitebark pine forests in a widespread epidemic of the 1920-1940s from southern Canada to northern Wyoming (Amo 1970, Ciesla and Fumiss 1975, Amo and Hoff 1989), and they continue to kill whitebark pines in endemic infestations. Like other pine hosts of mountain pine beetle (i.e., lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa )), stands with large diameter trees and high tree densities are more likely to be attacked than less dense stands composed of smaller trees (Perkins and Roberts in press). Historically, fires in lower elevation forests with fire return intervals on decade scales have spread into upper elevations and impacted whitebark pine communities. Fires create openings, and Clark’s nutcrackers are known to select openings as caching sites (Vander Wall and Baida 1977, Tomback et al.1993). In large bums in subalpine forests, conifers including lodgepole pine, subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce may not readily re-establish because their seeds are wind dispersed and limited by the distance of wind transport (Tomback et al. 1993). Therefore whitebark pine is often the first species to become established following fire. Fire suppression of the last 80 years -3- Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) has favored the successional replacement of whitebark pine by shade tolerant species such as subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce (Amo and Hoff 1989, Murray 1996). This shift in species composition and the consequences of this successional trajectory have been discussed and modeled by Keane et al. (1990, 2001). Prescribed burning and silvicultural treatments are now being used to restore whitebark pine ecosystems on National Forest lands throughout the northwest. For those who want to learn more about this intriguing system, there is a comprehensive collection of papers on whitebark pine, Whitebark Pine Communities: Ecology and Restoration (Island Press, 2001), assembled by editors Tomback, Keane, and Amo. The volume covers the biology of whitebark pine, the natural and anthropogenic threats to the species, restoration, and genetics. It is available from the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, PO Box 16775, Missoula, MT 59808, (www.whitebarkfound.org) or your local bookstore or library. Other valuable reading for those interested include Amo and Hoff (1989), Schmidt and MacDonald (1990) and Lanner (1996). References Amman, G. D. 1977. The role of mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine ecosystems: impact on succession. Pages 3-18 in W. J. Mattson, editor. The role of arthropods in forest ecosystems: Proceedings, 15th international congress of entomology, 19—27 Aug, 1976, Washington, DC. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA. Amo S. F. 1970. Ecology of alpine larch ( Larix lyallii ) in the Pacific Northwest. Dissertation. University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA. Amo, S. F. 1986. Whitebark pine cone crops— a diminishing source of wildlife food? Western Journal of Applied Forestry 1:92-94. Amo, S. F„ and R. P. Hammerly. 1984. Timberline mountain and arctic forest frontiers. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Washington, USA. Amo, S. F., and R. J. Hoff. 1989. Silvics of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-253. Barrett, S. W. 1994. Fire regimes on andesitic mountain terrain in northeastern Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. International Journal of Wildland Fire 4:65-76. Bartos, D. L., and K. E. Gibson. 1990. Insects of whitebark pine with emphasis on mountain pine beetle. Pages 171-174 In W. C. Schmidt and K. J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High- Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29—31 March 1989. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-270. Brown, P. M. 1996. OLDLIST: A database of maximum tree ages. In: Tree Rings, Environment and Humanity, Proceedings of the International Conference, 17-21 May 1994. Tucson. Edited by J. S. Dean, D. M. Meko, and T.W. Swetnam. Radiocarbon. Ciesla, W. M., and M. M. Fumiss. 1975. Idaho’s haunted forests. American Forests 81:32-35. Fames, P. E. 1990. Snowtel and snow course data: describing the hydrology of whitebark pine ecosystems. Pages 302-304 In W.C. Schmidt and K.J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High- Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29—31 March 1989. Hoff, R. J., R. T. Bingham, and G.I. McDonald. 1980. Relative blister rust resistance of white pines. European Journal of Forest Pathology 10:307-316. Hoff, R. J., and S. Hagle. 1990. Disease of whitebark pine with special emphasis on white pine blister rust. Pages 179-190 In W.C. Schmidt and K.J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High- Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29—31 March 1989. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-270. Hoff, R.J., S. Hagle, and R. G. Krebil. 1992. Genetic consequences and research challenges of blister rust in whitebark pine forest. In W.C. Schmidt and F.K. Holtmeier, compilers. Proceedings — International Workshop on Subalpine Stone Pines and Their Environment: The Status of Our Knowledge. St. Moritz, Switzerland September 5-11, 1992. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-GTR- 309. Hutchins, H. E., and R. M. Lanner. 1982. The central role of Clark’s Nutcracker in the dispersal and establishment of whitebark pine. Oecologia 55:192-201. Keane R. E., P. Morgan, and J. P. Menakis. 1994. Landscape assessment of the decline of whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ) in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, Montana, USA. Northwest Science 68:213-229. Keane, R. E., S. F. Amo, J. K. Brown, and D. F. Tomback. 1990. Modeling stand dynamics in whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ) forests. Ecological Modeling 51:73-95. Keane, R. E., and S. F. Amo. 1993. Rapid decline of whitebark pine in western Montana: evidence from 20-year remeasurements. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 8:44-47. © Dr. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College -4- Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) Keane, R. E. 2001. Successional Dynamics: Modeling and Anthropogenic Threat. Page 159-192 In D. F. Tomback, Amo, S.F. and Keane, R.E. Whitebark Pine Communities - Ecology and Restoration. Island Press. 440 pp. Kendall, K. C. 1983. Use of pine nuts by grizzly and black bears in the Yellowstone area. International Conference on Bear Research and Management. International Bear Association, Madison, Wisconsin. Kendall, K. C., and S. F. Amo. 1990. Pages 264-273 In W.C. Schmidt and K.J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings— Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High-Mountain Resource. 29-31 Mar. 1989, Bozeman, Montana, USA. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-270. Lanner, R. M. 1980. Avian seed dispersal as a factor in the ecology and evolution of limber and whitebark pines. Pages 15-48 In B. P. Dancik and K. O. Higginbotham, editors. Sixth North American Forest Biology Workshop Proceedings. Edmonton, Alberta 11-13 August, 1980. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Lanner, R. M. 1982. Adaptations of whitebark pine seed dispersal by Clark’s Nutcracker. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 12:391-402. Lanner, R. M. 1996. Made for each other, a symbiosis of birds and pines. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Mattson, D. J., and C. Jonkel, C. 1990. Stone pines and bears. Pages 223-236 In W. C. Schmidt and K. J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High-Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29—31 March 1989. USDA Forest Service General Technics Report INT-270. McDonald, G. I. and R. J. Hoff 2001. Blister rust: an introduced plague. In D.F. Tomback, S.F. Amo, and R.E. Keane, editors. Whitebark Pine Communities Ecology and Restoration, pp 193-220. Morgan, P., and S. C. Bunting. 1990. Fire effects in whitebark pine forests. Pages 166-170 In W. C. Schmidt and K. J. MacDonald, compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High-Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29-31 March 1989. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-270. Murray, M. M. 1996. Landscape dynamics of an island range: interrelationships of fire and whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis). Dissertation. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA. Pease, C. M., and Mattson, D. J. 1999. Demography of the Yellowstone grizzly bears. Ecology 80:957-975. Perkins, D. L., and T. W. Swetnam. 1996. A dendroecological assessment of whitebark pine in the Sawtooth-Salmon River region Idaho. Canadian Journal Forest Research 26:2123-2133 Perkins, D.L., and D. W. Roberts. 2002. Predictive models of whitebark pine mortality from mountain pine beetle. Forest Ecology and Management (in press). Peterman, R. M. 1978. The ecological role of mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine forests. Pages 16-25 In A. A. Berryman, G. D. Amman, R. W. Stark. Theory and practice of mountain pine beetle management in lodgepole pine forests. Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA. Pickett, S. T. A. and P. S. White. 1985. Patch dynamics: a synthesis. Pages 371-386 In S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, editors. The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, London, UK. Romme, W. H. 1982. Fire and landscape diversity in subalpine forests of Yellowstone National Park. Ecological Monographs 52: 199-221 . Romme, W. H., D. H. Knight, and J. B. Yavitt. 1986. Mountain pine beetle outbreaks in the Rocky Mountains: regulators of primary productivity? American Naturalist 127:484-494. Smith, J. P. 1997. Insect and disease problems in Intermountain West whitebark pines with emphasis on white pine blister rust disease. Thesis. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA. Smith, J. P., and Hoffman, J. T. 2000. Status of white pine blister rust in the Intermountain West. Western North American Naturalist 60: 165- 179. Tomback, D. F. 1978. Foraging strategies of Clark’s Nutcracker. Living Bird 16:123-161. Tomback, D. F. 1982. Dispersal of whitebark pine seeds by Clark’s Nutcracker: a mutualism hypothesis. Journal of Animal Ecology 51:451- 467. Tomback, D.F., S. K. Sund, and L. A. Hoffman. 1993. Post fire regeneration of Pinus albicaulis: height-age relationships, age structure and microsite characteristics. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23:113-118. Tomback D. F., J. K. Clary, J. Koehler, R. J. Hoff, and S. F. Amo 1995. The effects of blister mst on post-fire regeneration of whitebark pine: the Sundance Bum of northern Idaho (USA). Conservation Biology 9:654-664. Tomback, D.F., Amo, S.F. and Keane, R.E. 2001. Whitebark Pine Communities - Ecology and Restoration. Island Press. 440 pp. Schmidt, W. C. and K. J. MacDonald. 1990. Compilers. Proceedings-Symposium on Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: Ecology and Management of a High-Mountain Resource. Bozeman, Montana, USA 29—31 March 1989. Vander Wall, S. B., and R. P. Baida. 1977. Coadaptations of the Clark’s nutcracker and the pinyon pine for efficient seed harvest and dispersal. Ecological Monographs 47:89-1 1 1. Watt, A. S. 1947. Pattern and process in the plant community. Journal of Ecology 35: 1-22. -5- Summer 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) Response to “Charles Geyer Reconsidered” Bertie Weddell, White Pine Chapter Dr. Cox’s thought-provoking critique of my article on the nineteenth-century German botanist Charles Geyer ( Sage Notes 22(2):7-8) raises important questions about history, science, and values, and I welcome the opportunity to revisit these. In doing so, I have discussed Dr. Cox’s concerns with a number of people who made helpful comments. I am especially grateful to Lynne Crow, Eugene Hunn, Anthony Mattina, Diane Mallickan, and Jack Nisbet for their insights. Dr. Cox states that I did not give Geyer credit for his substantial botanical contributions and that the sources I listed did not give a “balanced view of the man and his accomplishments.” That is true. That subject had been ably covered in a previous issue of Sage Notes by Sarah Walker in her enthusiastic review of Dr. Cox’s writing about Geyer (“Charles Geyer Featured by Idaho Historical Society” Sage Notes 21(3):7-8, 1999). My piece on “Attitudes of an Early Botanist” was not intended as a discussion of Geyer’ s botanical contributions. Rather, as the title indicates, it was an examination of his attitudes. The suggestions for “Additional Reading” were intended to provide interesting treatments of the ideas discussed in my article, by professionals from a variety of disciplines and geographic contexts.1 According to Dr. Cox, Geyer was a puzzled observer of Manifest Destiny, not a champion of it. I agree that Geyer was puzzled by some aspects of Manifest Destiny. I did not argue that Geyer was a “champion” of western expansion, only that he was “thoroughly sympathetic” to it. Looking at the words he used to describe that expansion (“enterprise and unceasing civil conquests,” “great western empire,” “outpost of civilization,” and “mighty future empire” (Geyer 1846:200,201)), I find it difficult to escape the conclusion that he was sympathetic to it. According to Dr. Cox, I unfairly “tar [Geyer] with the anti-Indian brush.” This criticism has two parts. First, Dr. Cox argues that Geyer’ s negative comments about certain Indians were understandable because he 1 The dates and volume numbers in Dr. Cox’s citations for Geyer’ s publications in the London Journal of Botany are incorrect. See “Literature Cited” at the end of this article for the correct citation. accurately depicted the characteristics of particular tribes. For example, Dr. Cox argues that the Spokanes “had a negative image among neighboring tribes — whose folklore even included tales explaining why the Spokane were as they were — and among fur traders,” and that the Nez Perce “would probably have welcomed” Geyer’ s characterization of them as insolent and haughty. Second, Dr. Cox suggests that Geyer “clearly admired the Coeur d’Alene, with whom he . . . had good rapport.” Again, I do not think Geyer’ s words support Dr. Cox’s interpretation. In his description of an encounter with a “saucy-looking . . . half-blooded ferocious [Spokane] youngster [with an] offending manner,” Geyer (1846:296, footnote) stated that the young man’s companions had “a kind of sneer peculiar to the Indian only.” This generalization is clearly meant to apply to Indians as a single group, not just to the Spokanes. Similarly, Geyer (1846:297, footnote) described Indians as a unitary group when he referred in a different passage to the “air of nonchalance which all North American Indians possess.” On the other hand, I agree with Dr. Cox that Geyer expressed admiration for the Coeur d’ Alenes. In fact, he eloquently described a picturesque scene with men paddling canoes and fishing while children played and horses grazed nearby. This, Geyer (1846:290) wrote, was “as complete a picture of pristine nature as can be held under a northern sky.” But this view of “the Indian” as part of the natural world is tied up with another issue on which Dr. Cox and I disagree: the reasons why Geyer believed that Indians should become farmers. Dr. Cox suggests that the only reason Geyer and the Rev. Henry Spalding wanted Indians to give up hunting and gathering and take up farming was that they were concerned with Indian welfare. He suggests that Geyer and Spalding were convinced whites would take away Indians’ lands unless they settled on the land and cultivated it. I certainly agree with Dr. Cox that settlers did not regard Indian hunting and gathering as legitimate uses of land. However, the evidence from Geyer’ s writings does not support Dr. Cox’s contention that Geyer’ s advocacy of Indian settlement was motivated by a desire to protect Indian interests. I am not sure how Dr. Cox arrived at this conclusion, as Geyer makes no mention of settlers or the threat of settlement (which is not surprising since settlers did not arrive in northern Idaho until several decades after Geyer traveled through the region). On the other hand, he clearly articulates the belief that the Indian economic -6- Summer 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) system was inferior to agriculture. In describing a camas harvest, Geyer (1846: 300-301) wrote “Nothing can make the Indian recollect that he, with his family, hungered and nearly starved for two months. His natural carelessness and improvidence return with the abundant seasons.” For Geyer, the issue was one of primitive versus civilized culture. Geyer believed that the Indian was a “poor creature” who had to be made to “understand that he must . . . become independent of hunting” (Geyer 1846: 517 footnote), leaving behind his pristine lifestyle for a civilized one. Dr. Cox argues that I indulged in presentism for pointing out that Geyer did not foresee the damage that excessive livestock grazing would do to native vegetation. Actions often have unintended consequences. This is one of the lessons of history. Understanding things that our predecessors did not foresee can help up to think about the possible unanticipated consequences of our own actions. Similarly, Dr. Cox suggests that I judged Geyer by current values instead of the values of the time in which he lived. Specifically, he says Geyer was not racist: “Political correctness aside, statements which are today viewed as insensitive or hostile cannot legitimately be considered evidence of racism, or even a lack of sympathy, when expressed in the context of times a century and a half ago.” I did not use the term racist to describe Geyer, but I am not convinced by Dr. Cox’s assertion that Geyer was not racist because his attitudes were not unusual. (Racism was, after all, prevalent in those times, so if Geyer’ s attitudes were typical, doesn’t that mean he was racist?) It is instructive to scrutinize his attitudes, not to judge him for living in the nineteenth instead of the twenty-first century, but to understand where we have been and to glean insights into where we might be headed. Finally, Dr. Cox’s critique prodded me to ask myself why I felt it important to write an article focusing on Geyer’ s attitudes. It is tempting to think that science is objective. But scientists are people who are embedded in their culture, as we all are. Just as I can only interpret Geyer through the mental constructs of the culture and the time in which I live, Geyer’ s views were colored by his time and his culture. I wrote the article because I feel that trying to understand how his attitudes reflected his historical context is a worthwhile endeavor. It deepens our understanding of the man and of history. There is another reason why I wrote the original piece. Today, we tend to think kindly of people who care about biological diversity, but sometimes we overlook equally serious threats to cultures. As Dr. Cox points out, Geyer was attentive not only to the plants of the West but also to the ways that Indians used those plants. Yet, even though he appreciated the botanical knowledge of Native Americans, he (like most white people at the time) thought the cultures that gave rise to those insights were uncivilized. This led Geyer to advocate policies that threatened indigenous cultures and transformed the landscape which supported the very plants that so fascinated him. Geyer was interested in biological diversity (although he certainly wouldn’t have used that phrase), and that aspect of his work has been thoroughly elucidated by historians such as Dr. Cox. But the implications of his attitudes for cultural diversity have not been explored as thoroughly. I am pleased that my article stimulated discussion of that important topic. Literature Cited Geyer, C. A. 1846. Notes on the vegetation and general character of the Missouri and Oregon Territories, made during a botanical journey in the state of Missouri, across the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific, during the years 1843 and 1844. London Journal of Botany 5:198-208, 285-310, 509-524. Allium geyeri © W.L. Wagner and USDA PLANTS database -7- Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) tititize a dvaiite AartA Jdafia fax 5 he Jdaha JVatwe Plant Society Clnnuai Meeting, dtiday, fedy 26 ~ — Sunday.; Jtdy 25, 2662 Mooted % the JClnnl/ilnnlcA C/iaptev Sandpaint, Jdaha Mark year calendar fax this fun, informative, “making, nun friends” adventure Jriday, fi*dy 26— Urrival dn evening field trip will be. offered Saturday, Ju£y 27— Clnnuai Piusiness Meeting Special tour of awe (Jlrboretum in Sandpoint Potluck lunch p minded by the Piinnikinnich Chapter afternoon <£ evening are free to- explow Sunday, fiuiy 2S- JCinnikinnick Chapter Pield 5 rip Stunning views of Italic Pend (Oreille <£ abundant native plants Cveryene is invited to join us **ttiesetoatidn IDeadtine is Wednesday, May 75, 2662** We sincerely hope you will come ewily ok stay an extia day ok two to take advantage of beautiful JVorih Jdaho, the Selkirk Mountains, Jitahe Pend Oreille, Priest Italic and Piritish Columbia ( which is just 15 Hooks norih ). Sandpoint has a treasure of resorts, bed <£ breakfasts, motels, camping <£ PtV parks. Please let us know you arc coming 5 we will be happy to send you a Sandpoint Visitors Quide. jVate: d££ accommodations inducting camp/dV sites fii££ up eady fie* July, so ietus Help you ma/te res dilations. Phis will be a wonderful opportunity to bring the chapters in the various parts of the state closer together. diease s flare tins invitation uiit/1 someone. Por more information A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) three months, the group is involved in two major conservation projects in the northern panhandle. Our Annual Meeting Committee Will Help You Plan Your July Trip Here Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find many details about our plans for the Annual Meeting on the last weekend in July. If you haven’t yet done so, we urge you to contact our event chairman, Sylvia Chatbum, as she and her volunteers will provide whatever assistance you need in planning your visit to Sandpoint and in enjoying yourself while you’re here: telephone: (208) 263-2175; email sylvia @ televar. com, or write: 1787 Dufort Road, Sagle, ID 83860 Pahove Chapter Spring blew in cool and blustery, suddenly baked us with summer-like heat, then, closed on another cool note . . . but it forgot to bring those May showers! Nevertheless, our drought tolerant native flora put on its usual floral shows in our beloved Boise Foothills and amazing Owyhees. But now the moisture- stressed plants will have to survive the great Mormon Cricket invasion! In April, Pahove and the Northwest Earth Institute hosted another successful native plant sale (actually a shopping feeding frenzy!). During May we led a well-attended field trip to the picturesque ash formations of Succor Creek, in the Owyhee Uplands, to view the globally imperiled Owyhee Clover. Upcoming Pahove events include: Saturday July 20 - Sunday July 21: The Idaho Green Party and the Pahove Chapter team up for an educational adventure to the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness ! Join us on a moderately difficult overnight backpack trip to Ruffneck, Langer, and Island Lakes (one way: 3 miles, 1300 foot elevation gain). Botanist Chris Murphy and herbalist Alison Iaso Isenberg will teach you about the native plants and ecology of subalpine forests and meadows bordering crystalline lakes reflecting massive granite peaks. Learn the science and lore of our native plants, their values for food and medicine, and issues surrounding their conservation. Take an optional day hike to the lookout atop 9400 foot Ruffneck Peak for a commanding view of the Sawtooths and surrounding Salmon River Mountains. Meet at the MK Nature Center parking lot at 600 S. Walnut St. (on the south side of the Idaho Fish and Game Building in Boise) at 9:00 AM, Saturday. Call Chris at 342-0585 for information and reservations. White Pine Chapter Karen Gray heads White Pine’s new Environmental Impact/Forest Plan Comment and RNA Species Update committees. Committee members Angela Sondenaa, Trish Heekin and Karen have provided guidance on native plant concerns for a Clearwater Subbasin Plan being developed that involves the Northwest Power Planning Council and an interagency team. Their next project is to study and comment on the new USFS nationwide Forest Plan Rule as it relates to native plant communities. New this year: Summer evening native plant garden tours . Moscow (see below) Contacts: Nancy Miller, 208-882-2877, nmiller@moscow.com. or Sonja Lewis, 208-883-2638, lewi9001 @ uidaho.edu. Saturday, June 29, 10:00-noon: Wildlife Habitat Institute Tour. See greenhouse operations, demo ponds and wetlands regarding the Institute’s habitat assessment and restoration design services. Hwy 95, Hwy 3 through Potlatch to Princeton. Right onto Hatter Creek Rd. Left onto E. Hatter Creek Rd. Contact: Jonalea Tonn, 208-882-5900, jonalea@moscow.com. Tuesday, July 9, 2002, 7:00 pm: Meet at Business Incubator, Hwy 95 & Sweet Ave. (south of main entrance of U of I) to visit the lush garden of Pam and Steve Brunsfeld. Weekend, July 19-21: Stillinger Herbarium collecting expedition, Lochsa River. Learn how plants are collected, help collect, and explore this botanically rich area. Glade Creek Campground is reserved for the evenings of July 19, 20 and 21. There is no water at the campground — please bring your own. There are toilets, tables, firepits — and perhaps a sandy beach. Along with camping gear, please bring a hand lens and plant ID books ( Flora of the Pacific Northwest , if you have it). Contacts: Pam Brunsfeld and Karen Gray, 208-885- 4623 (Herbarium). Tuesday, August 6, 6:30 pm: Meet at Business Incubator (See 7/9) to visit the garden and watercourses of Fred Rabe. Fred will show us unique aquatic invertebrates. - 13- Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) Tuesday, August 20, 7:00 pm: Meet at Business Incubator (see 7/9) to visit the various prairie habitats designed by Bill and Diane French at their home, and learn more about xeriscaping. September 28, approximately 9:00 am to 4:00 pm: Annual Chapter meeting and potluck. Meet at Little Boulder Creek Campground. Hwy 8 past Troy to Helmer. Follow signs (turn right) to campground. Activities: plant walks, EAT, business meeting and election of officers, seedswap of native plants, and a call-for-photos for future album efforts. Contact: Mary Conitz, 208-877-1626 or 883-9799, mconitz@turbonet.com. Officers and Chairs, 2002 President, Sonja Lewis Vice President, Mary Conitz Secretary, Karen Gray Treasurer, Dennis Ferguson Newsletter, Nancy Miller Publicity, Tyson Kemper Environmental Impact & Forest Plan Comment, Karen Gray RNA Species Update, Karen Gray Nominating, A1 Stage Sah-Wah-Be Chapter Folks interested in native plants from Ashton to Franklin, from Way an to Aberdeen are welcome to contact Sah-Wah-Be Chapter president, Ruth Moorhead at moOmith@RuthMoorhead.net or at 208-233-501 1 to learn what outings the group has planned. News and Notes National Forest Roadless Areas: In a proactive attempt to prevent further erosion of the U. S. Forest Service’s “roadless rule,” a coalition of conservation organizations recently secured the introduction of a bill to permanently protect over 58 million acres of remaining National Forest roadless areas. The “National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act” was introduced with the strength of 172 co-sponsors, including at least 12 Republicans and over 40 Representatives from western states. About 25 Senators have committed to the introduction of a companion bill in the Senate. The “roadless rule,” issued one year ago, after about 600 hearings and 2 million public comments (the majority of which supported the protection of environmental and recreational values over continued road development) banned new road-building in most National Forest roadless lands. Related management actions addressed the $8 billion dollar maintenance backlog on existing roads. Road building in National Forests can have negative effects on plant communities and both rare and common native plants. Roads directly impact plant habitat, but may also indirectly impact plants through facilitating off-road vehicle travel, soil erosion, and exotic weed invasion, as well as altering original hydrologic conditions. During the Bush administration, the “roadless rule” has been in legal and regulatory limbo, with a fervent on-going debate between the U. S. Forest Service and conservationists over its implementation. Proposed timber sales and oil and gas drilling leases are being considered in roadless areas throughout the inter- mountain west at this time. As a result, concerned congress members and conservationists have decided to take action to implement the original protections provided by the “roadless rule.” The U. S. House of Representatives can be reached at 202-244-3121 to receive your comments on the issue. ( Chris Murphy ) The Perils of Summer Gardening: Some of you may remember an article in the Summer 2000 issue of Sage Notes about Mr. Yuk and the Euphorbiaceae. Karen Hinman of Richland, Washington wrote to us about a story involving some of the more unsavory aspects of gardening. Her story follows: “One year in July I received a call about a mystery plant which had milky sap and produced a terrible rash. Specifically, someone got sap on their skin, rubbed their eyes, and ended up in the emergency room with terrible pain and eyes swollen shut! The hospital didn’t know the cause. The sufferer’s eyes were irrigated and they recovered. The offending plant was growing on a Pasco, Washington property, and there was some question as to whether it was native or persisting from cultivation by former residents. The current owners were in the process of cutting back a population of Summer 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (2) these plants when they suffered the frightening reaction that sent them to the ER. I was given a baggie (‘Aren’t you glad it’s a Ziploc?’) containing stems and leaves and did a little sleuthing. The culprit was Euphorbia myrsinites, a rock garden subject which will tolerate frost, poor soil, heat and dry conditions." Karen would have added a note to our article from “ Botanica , The illustrated A-Z of over 10,000 garden plants and how to cultivate them” The note: “ all euphorbias have milky sap which is corrosive to sensitive areas of the skin; some can cause temporary blindness if sap contacts the eyes.” Euphorbia myrsinites or myrtle spurge is on the BLM National List of Invasive Weed Species of Concern and is on the noxious weed list for the State of Colorado. Thank you Karen, and I think we have learned a valuable lesson from this story. When gardening, let’s be careful what we plant out there! (editor) The Twelfth Wildland Shrub Symposium: Seed and Soil Dynamics in Shrubland Ecosystems August 12 - 16, 2002 Student Union, University of Wyoming, Laramie Sponsored by the Shrub Research Consortium and the University of Wyoming Botany 2002 - Botany in the Curriculum: Integrating Research and Teaching August 2-7, 2002 Pyle Conference Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison Annual Scientific Meeting: Presentations of Scholarly Work via Workshops and Field Trips For more information visit: http://www.botany2002.org/ A Convocation: Understanding & Restoring Ecosystems August 4-9, 2002 Tucson Convention Center & Concert Hall and the adjacent Radisson Hotel, Tucson, Arizona Society for Ecological Restoration’s 14th Annual International Conference Held Jointly with the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting For more information visit: www.esa.org/tucson - 15- Sage Notes is published four times a year in February, May, September, and December by the Idaho Native Plant Society, incorporated since 1977, under the laws of the State of Idaho. Editor, Mark Shumar; Production, Juanita Lichthardt; Contributing Editors, Nancy Cole, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, and Chris Murphy. Newsletter ads: personal ads $2; commercial ads $5 for 1/8 page, $8 for 1/4 page, $15 for 1/2 page, and $25 for full page. Ads should be sent with payment. Submissions: members and others are invited to submit material for publication. Articles in any form, even hand-written, are welcome, as is art work. Please provide a phone number in case there are questions. Material will not be returned. Send submissions directly to the editor, Mark Shumar, 6017 W Randolph Dr., Boise, ID 83709, or . Submission deadlines are January 1, April 1 , August 1 , and November 1 . Officers: President, Karl Holte; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Leonard Lake; Treasurer, Steve Rust; Member-at-large, Loring Jones; Past President, Kristin Fletcher; Conservation Committee Chair, VACANT; Newsletter Editor, Mark Shumar. Calypso Chapter, P.O. Box 331, Carey wood, ID 83809. President, VACANT; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Phil Hruskocy; Treasurer, Janet Benoit; Newsletter, Peggy Faust. Kinnikinnick Chapter, 1248 South Center Valley Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864. President, Eileen Atkisson; Vice President, Pat Ramsey; Secretary, Sylvia Chatbum; Treasurer, Patricia Stevens; Founder, Lois Wythe; Past President, Valle Novak; Newsletter, Michael and Phil Franklin; INPS board representative, Phil Franklin; Arboretum, Sylvia Chatbum; Education, Eileen Atkisson; Field trips, Nancy Low; Grant writing, Dorothy Modafferi; Membership, Pat Ramsey; Programs, Valle Novak; Ways and Means, Phil Franklin. Pahove Chapter, PO Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. President, Chris Murphy; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary-Treasurer, Steve Rust. Sah-Wah-Be Chapter, 1646 Kinghom Rd., Pocatello, ID 83201. President, Ruth Moorhead; Vice President, Brian Schuetz; Secretary, Barbara Nicholls; Treasurer, Harry Giesbrecht; Board Representative, Karl Holte. White Pine Chapter, PO Box 8481, Moscow, ID 83843. President, Sonja Lewis; Vice President, Mary Conitz; Secretary, Karen Adams; Treasurer, Jonalea Tonn; Publicity, Elisabeth Brackney; Newsletter, Nancy Miller; Past President, Dennis Ferguson. Wood River Chapter, PO Box 3093, Hailey, ID 83333. President, VACANT; Vice President, Joanne Vassar; Secretary-Treasurer; Jo Ann Robbins; Member-at-large, Carol Blackburn. The Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS) is dedicated to promoting interest in native plants and plant communities and to collecting and sharing information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the values of the native flora and its habitats. In keeping with our mission, it is the intent of the INPS to educate its membership and the public about current conservation issues that affect Idaho’s native flora and habitats. Membership is open to anyone interested in our native flora. Send dues to Steve Rust, Treasurer, 1201 N. 24th, Boise, ID 83702, and all correspondence to INPS, Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Website address: IdahoNativePlants.org. Category . Patron . Individual . Household * . Student . Senior Citizen Annual Dues, payable Jan. 1 $30 $10 $15 $7 $7 Name Address City/State Zip Telephone Chapter affiliation? (check one) Calypso (Coeur d’Alene; please include $6 newsletter dues) Kinnikinnick (Sandpoint; please include $6 for Kinnikinnick Journal) Pahove (Boise) Sah-Wah-Be (SE Idaho) White Pine (Moscow) Wood River (Ketchum-Sun Valley; please include $7 chapter dues) None. Those who do not live near a chapter are encouraged to join. We can put you in touch with other members in your area, and can coordinate with you on any state level activities you may wish to be involved in. * Household memberships are allocated two votes. Idaho Native Plant Society P.O. Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Boise, ID Permit No. 688 New York Botanical Garden Library G558 Serials & Exchng. Bronx, NY 10458-5126 Fall 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) Slickspot Peppergrass Proposed for Federal Listing Michael Mancuso, Pahove Chapter Slickspot peppergrass ( Lepidium papilliferum ) is a small, annual or biennial mustard endemic to the sagebrush- steppe ecosystem of southwestern Idaho. It has been on the INPS rare plant list since 1985, and over the years it has become one of the group’s highest priority conservation concerns. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conservation recognition for slickspot peppergrass began when this species was made a federal category 2 candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. The species was dropped from federal consideration in 1996 when the USFWS revised its candidate category system. However, it was reinstated as a candidate species in October 1999, based largely on several years’ worth of discussions and information presented at the annual Idaho Rare Plant Conference. In April 2001, several Idaho-based groups petitioned the USFWS to list slickspot peppergrass as Threatened or Endangered. A year later, in April 2002, a settlement agreement between the USFWS and the petitioners required USFWS to propose to list slickspot peppergrass by a specified date. On July 15, 2002, a proposal was published in the Federal Register to list slickspot peppergrass as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Endangered status is given to species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Slickspot peppergrass occurs in scattered populations along the western Snake River Plain and adjacent foothills from near New Plymouth, east to the Glenns Ferry area. In addition, a series of disjunct populations are found on the Owyhee Plateau about 50 miles south of Glenns Ferry. Slickspot peppergrass is generally restricted to small, sparsely vegetated, light-colored “slick spots” within the sagebrush-steppe matrix. These visually distinct slick spot inclusions have different soil characteristics compared to the surrounding vegetation. Slickspot peppergrass is apparently one of the few plants adapted to these soils. The slick spots tend to be patchy in distribution, and vary from being locally common to uncommon and widely scattered in a given area. Slickspot peppergrass populations have unquestionably declined in number and extent over the past century. Large segments of its former sagebrush habitat have been lost or badly fragmented by urbanization and row crop agriculture along the Snake River Plain. Range wide, a lot of sagebrush habitat has been lost or seriously degraded by wildfires, especially during the past decade or so. A related problem is the compromise of slick spot integrity by ground disturbing fire rehabilitation efforts. Disturbances to slick spots associated with livestock grazing also seem to be problematic. All of these threats are ongoing and pose difficult management challenges. Taken together they {Articles contributed to Sage Notes reflect the views of the authors and are not an official position of the Idaho Native Plant Society. } In this Issue: Slickspot Peppergrass Proposed for Federal Listing, Michael Mancuso 1 Jay E. Anderson: 1937-2002, Mark Shumar, Susan Burch and Nancy Cole.... 2 Kinnikinnick Chapter’s Fledgling Conservation Committee, Molly O’Rielly 3 Chapter News 4 News and Notes 7 - 1 - La Fall 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) have contributed to the decline of slickspot peppergrass and its proposed protection under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS will make a decision on whether or not to list slickspot peppergrass in about a year. Presently, there are four federally listed plant species that occur in Idaho-Macfarlane’s four o’clock ( Mirabilis macfarlanei), water howellia ( Howellia aquatilis ), Spalding’s catchfly ( Silene spaldingii ), and Ute ladies tresses ( Spiranthes diluvialis). If it is added, slickspot peppergrass will represent the first federally listed plant known to occur only in Idaho. If you are interested in commenting on the proposed rule, the closing date is November 13, 2002. Comments should be submitted to the supervisor, Snake River Basin Office, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, ID 83709. Electronic submission of comments should be directed to FWlSRBOComment@fws.gov. The subject line must state “Lepidium Comments.” Photo by: Ann Debolt Jay E. Anderson: 1937-2002 By Mark Shumar, Susan Burch and Nancy Cole On July 9, 2002, colleagues, family and friends gathered in Pocatello to honor and celebrate the life of Jay Anderson after his passing on July 4, 2002. Jay and his wife of 43 years, Phyllis, had recently moved to Driggs, after he retired as Professor Emeritus at Idaho State University (ISU) in Pocatello. He was a vital man who pursued his life’s passions fully and as a result excelled at all of them. During his tenure at ISU, Jay was recognized as ISU’s Outstanding Researcher and Master Teacher, and received the Jerome Bigelow Award. As recently as 2001, Jay was presented with the Northwest Scientific Association’s Outstanding Scientist Award for his many contributions to the understanding of ecology. Jay was both a passionate teacher and a prolific researcher. Jay was a plant physiological ecologist, that rare breed of botanist concerned with the plant’s relationship to it’s environment from the unique perspective of what goes on inside the plant. He worked hard at keeping abreast of the latest knowledge in that field, exposing his graduate students to a wide variety of research. Jay and his graduate students regularly visited with other physiological ecologists in the region like Dr Martin Caldwell at Utah State University and Dr. Jim Ehlringer at University of Utah. Jay also took sabbaticals in Australia to conduct research in his field and learn from Australian scientists. The pristine expanse of sagebrush-steppe habitat of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) served as the main study area for him and many of his graduate students. In addition, he investigated lodgepole pine seedling growth after the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park, and lectured extensively on fire ecology and Yellowstone’s recovery. Jay routinely took his undergraduate students into the Yellowstone region to learn about the many fascinating ecosystems there. His enthusiasm for the outdoors extended beyond his interest in ecology. He was an accomplished alpine and backcountry skier, serving on ski patrols in Montana, New York, Colorado and locally at Grand Targhee. While working in Canberra, Australia, Jay commuted by bicycle and cycling became his passion. He also enjoyed whitewater kayaking, as well as fly-fishing, and backpacking. To many of us, Jay was more than a major professor and researcher. He was a friend, mentor, and even a father figure. A great many people loved Jay. Most of us are lucky to have an extended family made up of close friends. Jay had two extended families: his “river family,” those friends with whom he enjoyed his many outdoor recreation pursuits, and his “academic family,” those of us that owe our professional lives to Jay’s steadfast teaching. Jay taught us a great deal about the natural world. And all the while he was teaching us about the abundance of life and how to enjoy it. -2- Fall 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) Jay will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Our knowledge of the recovery of habitats that have been extensively burned is due in large part to his research following the fires in Yellowstone. His contributions to understanding the ecology of the rapidly disappearing sagebrush steppe ecosystem are many. In fact, Jay had recently published a major monograph on the sagebrush ecosystem, culminating 25 years of research at INEEL ( Ecological Monographs 71(4): 531-556)-work that we predict will eventually revolutionize our way of thinking about this oft’ used and often misunderstood ecosystem. For donations in Jay’s name, he would be honored if you consider the ISU Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Student Scholarship Fund, The Idaho Conservation League, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, or the environmental organization of your photo by: Mark Shumar choice. Kinnikinnick Chapter’s Fledgling Conservation Committee Molly O 'Reilly, Conservation Committee chair At the April, 2002 Kinnikinnick Chapter meeting we passed around a sign-up sheet for those interested in conservation. I had volunteered to start a committee, and called the dozen signers to see what time worked for a meeting and set the initial one. As we introduced ourselves at the first meeting it was evident that all are passionate about protecting our native species and frustrated with the low profile of native plants. Sandpoint is near the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and Priest Lake State Forest (PLSF). So we got ourselves on the quarterly listing of NEPA projects for the Forest Service here and asked for information on FY 2003 proposed projects from the State. We soon realized that we are beginners. We clearly would need to do rare plant surveys in PLSF to be effective, but had no idea how to go about it! Local botanists were reluctant to get involved. So we jumped at the chance to survey a private property for a Priest Lake developer that wants to put in a public beach and trail. A local botanist volunteered to assist us with this project. After reconnaissance, we conducted spring and fall surveys and drafted a report. We now understand the process far better. We have contributed a Lycopodium dendroideum community to the Idaho CDC database and are protecting a lovely Botrychium population. We are also advocating hard for weed control in a botanically significant area. Priest Lake State Forest proposes cutting over 2,400 acres in a variety of locations in 2003. Using USGS maps we identified one area as low, potentially wet and interesting. With local forest officials we conducted a reconnaissance in June and recognized several significant areas. With exceptional good luck, the INPS Annual Meeting was scheduled for Sandpoint and we planned a field trip to PLSF that weekend. Some of the best botanists in the state helped with our rare plant survey and we identified Epilobium palustre, Carex leptalea and Carex paupercula. Dr. Karl Holte is identifying additional Carex species in his Pocatello lab. We will be working with the Forest Supervisor to adjust the proposed cut to protect these populations. (We have no federally listed plant species here.) With the Forest Service we will be monitoring a rare lichen for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, we have two field trips of proposed project areas pending and are on the list to receive EIS materials for all projects of interest to us in our area. We have submitted initial input to the local Forest Plan Revision process, identifying -3- Fall 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) commercial wildcrafting (beargrass, huckleberries, etc.); weed control; identification and protection of sensitive plant species; and public access as issues of concern to us. We plan to be involved in this important process, which continues for several years. Our projects are varied and, we hope, will improve the approach taken to important populations of native plants in our community in the coming years. We also hope to spend considerable time in lovely areas seeing first hand what is growing and what humans are planning. The following is the text of a letter developed by the Kinnikinnick Chapter Conservation Committee with the help of Dr. Field Cobbs, Professor Emeritus of Forest Pathology at the University of California, Berkley. August 27, 2002 To: President G.W. Bush U.S. Secretary of Agriculture U.S. Senator Larry Craig U.S. Senator Mike Crapo Representative Butch Otter Dear Sirs, The Kinnikinnick Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society is deeply concerned about the proposed transfer of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) from the USDA to the new Homeland Security unit. We believe that such a transfer will further dilute the effort to protect our forests and other native, wildland ecosystems from exotic (non-native) disease pathogens, insects and noxious weeds. APHIS as it now exists, at best, provides minimal protection of wildland resources. The agency lacks the needed expertise in pests of native plants to provide adequate protection, and most of its emphasis is on agricultural crops. If APHIS is transferred to Homeland Security, we fear that its mission will be further diluted. This dilution appears to be already occurring in response to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 signed into law on June 12. The listed biological agents and toxins are limited to those affecting agricultural crops only. Instead of transferring the agency, we strongly recommend that its resources be increased substantially and a much greater emphasis be placed on protection of native plants and native wildlands ecosystems. We appreciate the opportunity to communicate our concerns to you and hope that you will seriously consider them. Respectfully yours, Eileen Atkisson, President Cc: Betty Richardson, Alan Blinken Chapter News Kinnikinnick Chapter Chapter Enjoyed Hosting INPS Annual Meeting on July 26-28: The official minutes of the annual meeting will be found elsewhere in Sage Notes, but the host chapter considers the event to have been a major success. Field trips appeared to be enjoyed by all who participated in them, including the unscheduled Sunday excursion to the Priest Lake area (during which visiting INPS botanists assisted members of our Conservation Committee in identifying species for their plant inventory). With five of the six chapters (all but Wood River) represented at the INPS meeting on Saturday, we clearly met the quorum requirements; thus, all business transacted became “official business.” Karl Holte presided over the first half of the session, then, after her election to the presidency, Kristin Fletcher presided over the remainder of the annual meeting. The Kinnikinnick-hosted picnic lunch at the -4 Fall 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ♦♦♦ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) Arboretum followed, complete with a guided tour, led by Arboretum Chair Sylvia Chatbum. The new INPS board then held its first meeting at the picnic site in Lakeview Park. Conservation is Discussed Over Weekend of Annual Meeting: Molly O’Reilly, Kinnikinnick Conservation Chair, recently summarized for our board the various topics she heard discussed both at the annual meeting and in informal discussions. Items identified as being of statewide interest included the following: Noxious weeds: promote not only responsible weed control, but also the use of land management practices that do not encourage invasive weeds. Wildcrafing on public lands: promote sustainable practices. Idaho State-owned lands: raise the standard for native plants and their habitats; employ botanists in state agencies with jurisdiction over wildlands. Idaho Transportation Dept. ( ITD ): significantly raise the standard for mitigation of lost wetlands and avoid building or expanding roads through high- quality, sensitive plant areas. Among those participating in these discussions were Kristin Fletcher, Karl Holte, Chris Murphy, Phil Hruskocy, Molly O’Reilly, Eileen Atkisson, Annette Fraser-Runnalls, and Adrienne Lilly. Calypso Chapter Peggy Faust from the Calypso Chapter will give a slide show and autograph copies of her book Wildflowers of the Inland Northwest for the October 9th meeting of the Washington Native Plant Society at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. White Pine Chapter Beautiful weather graced our summer and fall events. In June, fleecy clouds sailed over the lush green and blue of Wildlife Habitat Institute, as we toured their greenhouse, restoration ponds and wetlands. Greenhouse manager Gerry Queener (White Pine member and now science teacher for Renaissance Charter School) shared propagation tips for the cute baby Carex & Juncus (sedges & rushes) and many other riparian/aquatic/upland plants, including shrubs and trees. WHI sells 10 species, no less, of native willows! With careful observation plus trial & error, there is little need for chemical disease/weed/pest control. In WHI’s spiffy offices, owner Denny Dawes treated us to lunch, with photos of riparian restoration and other management activities. Especially notable was the Red River project, in which Dawes pioneered techniques for restoring river meanders. The collecting expedition for the UI Stillinger Herbarium, on the Lochsa River, unfortunately did not have a good turnout. It’s difficult to know whether the interest level was low for a “work” activity, or whether the weekend was already committed. Those attending did include lay, as well as professional botanists. The native plant garden tours were enjoyed by just the right number of participants — enough to make the hosts’ efforts worthwhile, but few enough to enable us to catch most of the information. Hosts had plant lists on hand, and even treated us to refreshments. Members Steve & Pam Brunsfeld led us through their exquisitely tended gardens, which included many woodland plants of North Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. They commented on which species seemed to do exceptionally well in their gardens, and which ones had proved most invasive. And — Wow! — there were a few surplus seedlings of Synthyris missurica (mountain kittentails) to take home. Biologist Fred Rabe, who works on establishing Research Natural Areas, shared his backyard with us. It features a created pond enhanced with woody material and numerous native aquatic plants — a haven to invertebrates not found in the usual degraded stream. Most participants took advantage of the opportunity to see these creatures under magnification, undulating or tumbling, in the dance of eat or be eaten! Member Juanita Lichthardt helped Fred compile the plant lists, which included a variety of shrubs and trees such as Cercocarpus ledifolius (curl leaf mountain mahogany). The mid- August evenings were already growing too short to fully see everything in members Bill & Diane French’s yard. The sunniest part of the yard is devoted to Palouse Prairie forbs and grasses (Seen in a recent Bill French communication: “The Forbs be with you!”). Bill’s investigation of his Midwest roots is evidenced in flourishing areas of Tallgrass and Shortgrass Prairie. The Frenches are dedicated to low water usage, and by carefully siting their plants, have also been able to grow thirsty specimens such as Sambucus (Elderberry). We gambled and won-good weather for the Chapter’s fall meeting; didn’t need the tarp shelter brought along. As soon as the sun warmed us up a -5- Fall 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) bit, the talk flowed about past events of 2002, priorities and ideas for 2003. Tyson Kemper committed matrimony over the summer, and brought his wife Kristen, to the great pleasure of all! The group discussed whether we could consider paying travel expenses to bring an acclaimed expert on Eriogonum and on Lewis & Clark botany to provide talks and a workshop. Officers for 2003 were elected: A1 Stage, President; Paul Wamick, Vice President; Karen Gray, Secretary, and Dennis Ferguson, Treasurer. Continuing in their positions are Nancy Miller, Newsletter Editor; Tyson Kemper, Publicity; and Karen Gray, Forest Plan Comment and RNA Committee. Juanita continues as Editor of our plant list for landscaping and restoration, and Sonja Lewis is drumming up support for compiling photo albums. Still needed: a representative to the INPS grant committee. Karen Gray and Fred Johnson brought seeds to share: Camas sia quamash (common camas), Aquilegia Formosa (red columbine), a native lupine, and a reliably white horticultural columbine. Some members stayed on to hike or bike the nearby Potlatch River trail, and to camp out. Pahove Chapter In late July, Pahove Chapter and the Idaho Greens teamed up to beat the heat with an overnight backpack outing to Ruffneck Peak in the Salmon River Mountains. Wildflowers, especially penstemons, glorious wetland forbs, and buckwheats, were still in abundance for us as a backdrop for educational discussions on fire ecology, native medicinal plants, and other "green" topics. We even got to know our favorite native plants by sketching, writing, and meditation exercises. We swam in the crystalline high mountain lakes, climbed to Ruffneck Peak lookout for commanding views of the Middle Fork Salmon River basin, Sawtooths, and Frank Church Wilderness, and topped it off with goofy campfire games. Upcoming: Pahove is working on participating in an autumn fair at a local nursery to promote landscaping with native plants. In addition, another fall colors field trip to the Boise National Forest is being planned for late September. Sah-Wah-Be Chapter On Friday, the 23rd of August, 2002, some of the members of the Sah-Wah-Be Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society gathered at Bob and Louise Shaw’s hideout at Mackay to participate in the Pahsimeroi field trip the next day, Saturday, 24 August. Ardys and Karl Holte went on a pre-trip scouting excursion Friday afternoon and noted 46 species, six of which were in flower. Following is an excellent summary of the trip as Dick and Joan Anderson recorded it in a letter to their grandchildren, shared here with their permission: “We gave our SUV the test of its life yesterday. It, and we, survived very well, and our Forester can take just about any terrain.. .and then some. We met a group of Native Plant enthusiasts at Mackay, Idaho ( that's West from Blackfoot, through the INEEL, and north of Arco). Dr. Karl Holte, retired botanist from ISU led the trip into Mahogany Creek in the Pahsimeroi Valley. The valley is ringed by mountains of the Lost River Range, including Mount Borah, highest in Idaho at 12,655 feet. Much of where we were is in the Challis National Forest. Dick figures we drove (there were thirteen people and four cars) at least 50 miles, much of it two way single track roads in the area. We drove crushed gravel, river rock (ugly driving), dirt, rutted soft sand (difficult), fields including some sagebrush, and a road that had basketball sized rocks and some sharp ones as well (not fun at all!). We had two cars that took turns leading (usually Karl) and the other three switched positions. No matter what position we were in, we were eating somebody's dust! Some of the inclines and declines of the ?roads? were very steep. The car took all of this with no problem whatever. Gramma (Joan) winced (and whined) when the car rode almost turned sideways or we went down high blind turns. We did not bottom out once! We stopped frequently to look at plants and walk around. In spite of the roads, it was beautiful. One of the two passes we drove over was called Double Springs Pass at 8,200 ft. and the second was Horse Heaven pass at 7,400 ft. Mostly dry country but Karl (and the rest of us too) found lots of flowers still in bloom. We ate our lunches under Limber Pine and Douglas Fir (smelled heavenly-but some took home some unintended pitch on their clothes from where they sat). Some of the plants I wrote down were Montana Penstemon (I must get some seed if I can). Bull Thistle and Musk Thistle. The Musk Thistle is gorgeous! See the picture attached. Predominant trees are Limber Pine in 5 needle bunches, and Mountain Mahogany. Saw pretty Lupine, Scarlet Gilia, fields of yellow Rabbit Brush (3 kinds). Matchbrush, and lots of tiny plants with minute blossoms, which under a hand lens become spectacular wows.... -6 Fall 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ♦> A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (3) And of course we have to "lose our focus" and get some birds. Saw 4 Sandhill Cranes on Arco Road that were late to be migrating. A tame Sage Thrasher at the INEEL Rest Stop gave us wonderful looks. We figured that this insect eater was gleaning insects from the cars that stopped there. A MacGillivery’s Warbler at the Mt.Borah Earthquake visitor area was a treat. A group of probably 50 Mountain Bluebirds were in the Valley. A huge ole’ Sage Grouse sauntered through the (of course) sagebrush. And about 30 migrating Nighthawks were seen on the Arco Road heading home. It was an 1 1 hour day — but one we will have fond memories of. Oh, and ten of the people along were part of the Desert Trips that Karl used to lead through the University. Seemed like old home week!” News and Notes Discovery of New Conifer in Remote Forests of Northern Vietnam: From: Press Release, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - An extraordinary conifer has been recently discovered in northern Vietnam, identified as new to science by Aljos Farjon, Kew's conifer specialist. The new species, a "missing link" between true cypresses ( Cupressus ) and the false cypresses ( Chamaecyparis ) was found in a remote area of northern Vietnam in ridge-top forest of extraordinary biodiversity. This is a remnant of a once-extensive forested region, which covered much of eastern Asia and extended to North America. Only fragments of the forests now remain and the new conifer is one of the relict species left after the last Ice Age. The new conifer is a small tree with highly unusual foliage of two sorts on the mature trees; both needle and scale leaves. It was discovered by a team of scientists, which included Kew's orchid expert Dr. Phillip Cribb and colleagues from the Vietnamese Institute of Terrestrial Ecology in Hanoi, the Komarov Institute in St. Petersburg and the Missouri Botanical Garden, on an expedition studying the orchid floras of the karst mountains of northern Vietnam. Aljos Farjon has confirmed that the conifer is a new species in a new genus and has named it, with colleagues from Vietnam and Missouri Botanical Garden, Xanthocyparis vietnamensis, the Golden Vietnamese cypress. Apart from the extraordinary Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis), recently described from New South Wales, it is the first truly new conifer described since 1948. Its closest ally, the Nootka cypress ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), also now transferred to the genus Xanthocyparis, is found in North America. Gardeners will know it as one of the parents of the widely grown and much loathed Leyland's cypress (X Cupressocy paris leylandii ). The consequence of the Vietnamese discovery is that the scientific name of Leyland's cypress will also have to change. Sadly, the Golden Vietnamese cypress is already critically endangered in the wild. It is naturally rare, confined to limestone ridges in a small area not far from the Chinese border. It is also prized locally for its fragrant wood, which is used for coffins and for making shrines. Only a few semi-mature and coppiced trees survive. At a meeting of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Taiwan just before Christmas, the Vietnamese scientists, backed up by Kew and Missouri scientists, will propose that its mountain habitat should be established as a conservation area. The Missouri Botanical Garden is currently working on cultivation and propagation techniques aimed at the long-term survival of this new conifer. ( Sarah Walker) -7- Sage Notes is published four times a year in February, May, September, and December by the Idaho Native Plant Society, incorporated since 1977, under the laws of the State of Idaho. Editor, Mark Shumar; Production, Juanita Lichthardt; Contributing Editors, Nancy Cole, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, and Chris Murphy. Newsletter ads: personal ads $2; commercial ads $5 for 1/8 page, $8 for 1/4 page, $15 for 1/2 page, and $25 for full page. Ads should be sent with payment. Submissions: members and others are invited to submit material for publication. Articles in any form, even hand-written, are welcome, as is art work. Please provide a phone number in case there are questions. Material will not be returned. Send submissions directly to the editor, Mark Shumar, 6017 W Randolph Dr., Boise, ID 83709, or . Submission deadlines are January 1, April 1 , August 1 , and November 1 . Officers: President, Kristin Fletcher; Vice President, Cleve Davis; Secretary, Kahne Jensen; Treasurer, Steve Rust; Member-at-large, (TBA); Past President, Karl Holte; Conservation Committee Chair, VACANT; Newsletter Editor, Mark Shumar. Calypso Chapter, P.O. Box 331, Careywood, ID 83809. President, VACANT; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Phil Hruskocy; Treasurer, Janet Benoit; Newsletter, Peggy Faust. Kinnikinnick Chapter, 1248 South Center Valley Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864. President, Eileen Atkisson; Vice President, Pat Ramsey; Secretary, Annette Fraser-Runnalls; Treasurer, Patricia Stevens; Founder, Lois Wythe; Conservation, Molly O’Reilly; Newsletter, Michael and Phil Franklin; INPS board representative, Phil Franklin; Arboretum, Sylvia Chatbum; Education, Pat Ramsey; Field trips, Jan Griffitts & Mary Shackelford; Historian, Sherry Metz; Hospitality, Dixie Stansell; Membership, Mary Jo Haag; Programs, Valle Novak; Ways and Means, Michele Murphree. Pahove Chapter, PO Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. President, Chris Murphy; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary -Treasurer, Steve Rust. Sah- Wah-Be Chapter, 1646 Kinghom Rd„ Pocatello, ID 83201. President, Ruth Moorhead; Vice President, Brian Schuetz; Secretary, Barbara Nicholls; Treasurer, Harry Giesbrecht; Board Representative, Karl Holte. White Pine Chapter, PO Box 8481, Moscow, ID 83843. President, Sonja Lewis; Vice President, Mary Conitz; Secretary, Karen Adams; Treasurer, Jonalea Tonn; Publicity, Elisabeth Brackney; Newsletter, Nancy Miller; Past President, Dennis Ferguson. Wood River Chapter, PO Box 3093, Hailey, ID 83333. President, VACANT; Vice President, Joanne Vassar; Secretary-Treasurer; Jo Ann Robbins; Member-at-large, Carol Blackburn. The Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS) is dedicated to promoting interest in native plants and plant communities and to collecting and sharing information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the values of the native flora and its habitats. In keeping with our mission, it is the intent of the INPS to educate its membership and the public about current conservation issues that affect Idaho’s native flora and habitats. Membership is open to anyone interested in our native flora. Send dues to Steve Rust, Treasurer, 1201 N. 24th, Boise, ID 83702, and all correspondence to INPS, Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Website address: IdahoNativePlants.org. Category . Patron . Individual . Household * . Student . Senior Citizen Annual Dues, payable Jan. 1 $30 $10 $15 $7 $7 Name Address City/State Zip Telephone - Chapter affiliation? (check one) Calypso (Coeur d'Alene; please include $6 newsletter dues) Kinnikinnick (Sandpoint; please include $6 for Kinnikinnick Journal) Pahove (Boise) Sah-Wah-Be (SE Idaho) White Pine (Moscow) Wood River (Ketchum-Sun Valley; please include $7 chapter dues) None. Those who do not live near a chapter are encouraged to join. We can put you in touch with other members in your area, and can coordinate with you on any state level activities you may wish to be involved in. * Household memberships are allocated two votes. Idaho Native Plant Society P.O. Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Boise, ID Permit No. 688 LUESTER T. MERTZ LIBRARY NOVI 1 2002 NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN New York Botanical Garden Library G558 Serials & Exchng. Bronx, NY 10458-5126 !...{(!! [•4..!.!. ii.ll. I llliiitl.il •II... i z-z Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) Henderson’s “Lost” Papers and the Lost River Mountains Rhoda M. Love, Eugene, Oregon During the summgE-of 1895, Louis F. Henderson, botany professor at the University of Idaho at Moscow, together with a student assistant, was dispatcrhetfbn a 3-month, 1 ,000 mile reconnaissance trip through central Idaho by Frederick V. Coville, Chief Botanist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and Curator of the National Herbarium. The expedition took the men through 14 present-day Idaho counties and seven National Forests. It is clear from his diary and report, that Henderson’s journey of exploration was not only one of botanical collecting but also intended as a survey and assessment of the land for its climate, geology, natural resources, its mineral wealth and agricultural potential. Although F. V. Coville’ s instructions are apparently lost, it is evident that Henderson was asked to evaluate the economic potential of the new state of Idaho which had come into the Union in 1890 just five years before. Henderson’s trip took place at a watershed moment in Idaho history. The early surface mining boom of the 1860s and 70s was at an end and yet to come was massive exploitation of Idaho’s timber, extensive dam building, and the spread of irrigated farming to arid regions. No other on-the-ground survey of central Idaho by a trained scientist other than Henderson took place at this time of historical transition. These facts Louis F. Henderson (1854 - 1942) as he appeared in 1895 when he was Professor of Botany at the University of Idaho. Courtesy of Jean Walkinshaw. make the collections and detailed notes from this expedition of extreme importance to historians, land managers, and students of the floristics of the intermountain west. In addition, the fact that certain Idaho mountain ranges— most notably the Lost River Range— have changed names since Henderson’s day makes a close study of his papers and a retracing of his route important in order to precisely pinpoint the type localities of his significant collections. In this Issue: Henderson’s “Lost” Papers and the Lost River Mountains, Rhoda Love 1 Book Review: Field Guide to Liverwort Genera of Pacific North America, Roger Rosentreter 6 Mahonia repens, Lois Wyth 8 Seeds of Success, Rachael Buckingham and Ann DeBolt 9 Chapter News 10 News and Notes - President’s message 11 { Articles contributed to Sage Notes reflect the views of the authors and are not an official position of the Idaho Native Plant Society. } •• 1 - Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) It has long been believed that Henderson’s field notes from this trip were lost in the disastrous 1906 fire at the University which burned the Administration Building to the ground consuming his herbarium and all his papers. However, I have recently discovered that his materials from 1895 have survived intact but virtually forgotten in Washington DC! His hundreds of pressed plants from the expedition, his complete annotated plant list, his daily journal and comprehensive Final Report (never published) have remained at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for 107 years since that remarkable summer of exploration. The specimens are housed in the National Herbarium, while the valuable descriptive papers are preserved at the Botany Library where I studied them in November, 2001. UNITED STATES NATIONAL TI'ERBAKIUH. i > EPOsSITKX* II Y THE U. *5. U KPARTMIv NT OF iilCI" LX IT R.K. ML UNITED STATED NATIONAL HERDARiUM, 3 0?: I .. (• HEN T>RK i>< lector . In July, 2002, my husband Glen Love and I, using Henderson’s detailed journal entries as a guide, retraced his route through Idaho, taking photographs and notes and interviewing historians. As far as is known, mine is the first close study of these historically and botanically important documents, and certainly the first comprehensive retracing of the route. The trip took Henderson and his student-companion, Charles Kirtley, through the following present-day Idaho counties: Latah, Nez Perce, Lewis, Idaho, Boise, Gem, Elmore, Camas, Blaine, Custer, Butte, Clark and Lemhi; and the following present-day National Forests: Nez Perce, Payette, Boise, Sawtooth, Challis, Salmon and Targhee. Many important type specimens were collected and historically significant annotations on plant communities, soil types and land use practices are included in the journals and Report. The notes which follow highlight certain aspects of the 1 895 trip, including descriptions of some collecting locations, names of significant taxa collected, selected quotes from Henderson’s insightful comments about the land in 1895, and a few observations of my own. (All quotes and paraphrasing are from LFH’s 1895 journal except those followed by (EE) which are from his 1930 “Early Experiences” memoir.) Henderson and his student-assistant, Charles Kirtley, with three horses, left Moscow June 25 1895 and started south across the Clearwater River headed toward the Salmon and the Payette River drainages. The first day they passed through the historic Nez Perce mission at Lapwai. The second they toiled up the Craig Mountains on the road toward Grangeville. June 27: the men rose at 3:00 am and traveled through the town of Cottonwood (Idaho County) where LFH listed the some of the birds and mammals observed: sage cock, prairie chicken, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, sand hill crane, curlew, jack snipe, burrowing owl, dove, osprey, magpie, ouzel, meadowlark, western brant, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. Near here he collected the type of Heuchera gracilis Rydberg (now H. grossulariifolia var. g.). Nemophilia kirtleyi. Type specimen in the US National Herbarium, Washington. Collected by LFH in the Salmon River Canyon south of Florence, July 1, 1895, and named for his assistant, Charles Kirtley. Herbarium sheet and close-up of label. Photos: Rhoda Love. July 1, while traveling south into the Salmon River Canyon beyond the gold town of Florence on what LFH judged to be a poorly designed state road, he collected the type of Nemophila kirtleyi Henderson (named for Charles Kirtley), and of Sisymbrium perplexum Henderson (now Halimolobos perplexa var. lemhiensis). The following day the pair reached the area Henderson called the “Salmon River bluffs, Sawtooth Mountains,” but which today would be considered the northern Salmon River Range, collecting a white-flowered stickseed, Lappula cinerea Piper (now Hackelia cinerea). On July 2 he did a good deal of collecting near today’s Burgdorf, a hot springs area which was called “Warm Springs” in Henderson’s day. The name was changed to Burgdorf in 1914. Near there the men climbed a mountain they called “Secesh Peak” but which locals say is probably today’s Bear -2- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) Pete Mt., where he described the flora as “remarkably like that of the Cascades.” Here he collected the type of the dwarf onion, Allium simillimum Henderson. The 4th of July found them south of Big Payette Lake in Long Valley, where LFH observed, “The native bunch grasses are still uninjured although large flocks of cattle roam at large. This he explains is owing to the fact that “no sheep have yet been allowed here.” Outsiders have attempted to come in with both cows and sheep, but local ranchers with shotguns kept them at bay and are said to have shot about 60 head of cattle. About the weather he wrote, “The night of the 5th and 6th of July, ice froze in our kettles nearly a quarter of a inch thick.” They took refuge in a herder’s cabin when rain came down in torrents. (When Glen and I passed though this area July 10, 2002, temperatures were close to 100 degrees F.) Here LFH collected two Pea Family members, Lupinus longivallis Smith (now submerged in L. lepidus), and Trifolium pedunculatum Rydberg (now part of T. longipes). By July 9 they had reached Idaho City where Henderson decried the damage placer mining had done to the land: “The country around Idaho City I shall never forget since it was desolation carried to the nth degree. ... the country was turned topsy-turvy as far as the eye could reach, the largest boulders of course on top and barren of vegetation even after the lapse of years!” (EE) (Glen and I can attest to the fact that 107 years later, this devastated Idaho City landscape has not yet healed.) By July 14 the explorers had moved east of the hot and dry Boise River Canyon, and were nearing Big Camas Prairie where the Bannock Indians had fought in a hopeless attempt to preserve their camas fields from encroaching whites. Henderson noted that crops here required irrigation and reported that local farmers have a saying, “Snow is our best manure.” He collected a willow he named Salix longifolia var. tenerrima Henderson (now submerged in Salix exigua ). The Soldier Mountains dominate the landscape north of Camas Prairie and here Henderson began his serious collecting. He has an impressive list of types for July 16 and 17: Corydalis hendersonii Fedde = C. caseana var. cusickii (Soldier Mt. 3200 m.); Castilleja covilleana Henderson (Soldier Mt. 3353 m. ) named for F. V. Coville; Anotites alsinoides Greene = Silene menziesii? (Soldier Mt. 2438 m.); Nemophila inconspicua Henderson = N. parviflora var. austinae (Soldier Mt. 2438 m.); Phacelia minutissima Henderson (Soldier Mt. 2438 m.); Penstemon militaris Greene - P. attenuatus var. militaris (Soldier Mt. 2438 m.) (Did E. L. Greene display a sense of humor, naming the latter “militaris” for the collecting station on Soldier Mt?) The night was cold on July 18th and Henderson reported that he and Kirtley left camp early without breakfast which would be eaten later when the sun came up and they would need to stop to attend to the plants. Plant dryers must be changed twice a day and with the immense amount of material collected this was a time-consuming chore. They camped a few miles beyond the town of Soldier which has totally disappeared today having been bypassed by both railroad and freeway. Leaving Camas Prairie, the two moved north and east to Hailey and Ketchum passing the present day site of Sun Valley. As the men and horses traveled up the Big Wood River on July 25, LFH found a willow subsequently named Salix wolfii var. idahoensis Ball. They continued over Galena Pass, to the headwaters of the Salmon River, and on to Pettit lake where, on July 29, they collected the yellow-flowered perennial Draba argyrea Rydberg (now D. sphaerocarpa ), and a wild raspberry Batidaea cataphracta Greene (now Rubus idaeus). Still moving north toward the Sawtooths, they arrived at Redfish Lake where they camped for several days and found the fishing excellent. Nearby LFH made an interesting collection: “The next day I found a handsome and Angelica roseana, (right) called talus angelica, and named by LFH for J.N. Rose of the National Herbarium. The type was collected in the foothills of the northern Lemhis, although the label on the specimen at the US National Herbarium gives the location as “Lost River Mts.” Drawing by J.R. Janish, Intermountain Flora, Vol. 3-A, p.422. -3- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) peculiar Angelica which proved new and which I afterwards named Angelica roseana for Mr. Rose of the Washington Herbarium, returning the compliment for the great coast plant which he had named Angelica hendersonii. This plant was only in flower here, but luckily I found it later in the foothills of the Lost River Mts.” (EE) (This latter site is actually in the Lemhi Mts. of today. More about this below.) By this date, July 30, he noted in his journal that the flowering season was fast advancing and they were running out of pressing paper. On August 1, Henderson and Kirtley reached the celebrated Yankee Fork of the Salmon River known for its once-rich gold mines as well its once-renowned salmon runs. Here Henderson described the scenery as “wildly beautiful with vertical granite rising hundreds of feet above you and the roaring streams at your very feet.” Sad to say, Glen and I found the Yankee Fork devastated by placer mining which had occurred in the 1940s and 50s, with contaminated river rocks piled, as Henderson would say, “topsy-turvy,” and the water an unhealthy turquoise hue from leaching mercury and other heavy metals used in the ore extraction process. (Note: Henderson’s type collection of the distinctive yellow-flowered Pseudocymopterus hendersonii Coulter and Rose (now Cymopteris hendersonii ) in the National Herbarium, found “near the source of Mill Creek, west of Challis” is dated August 21; however it was probably collected earlier, most likely on August 2.) On August 3, the men reached the town of Challis, a supply center for the Yankee Fork mining towns. Here they bought all the paper in town — 20 pounds — which we will soon run through at our present rate of collecting. From the Challis post office they mailed their 8th huge bundle of plants to Washington. Near here they met for the first time the xerophytes Opuntia, Sarcobatus, Atriplex and other desert flora. Next they would move south, passing west of today’s Lost River Mountains. A major discovery I have made is that certain Idaho mountain ranges no longer bear the names used by Henderson in 1895. The most confusing of these name changes involves Idaho’s great Lost River Range. It is clear from the botanist’s detailed notes that an important part of his assignment was to explore these then- relatively-unknown mountains. However, the maps of that period were unclear with respect to the location and configuration of this imposing range which includes Mt. Borah, Idaho’s highest peak. By August 7, the two men were moving south through the Big Lost River Valley along the western edge of today’s Lost River Range. However, they penetrated the range at only a single point at its southern extremity near Arco in today’s Challis National Forest on August 9th. From there they moved east past the Little Lost River Valley and then north, reaching Birch Creek on Sunday August 1 1th. The next day they posted their 9th and 10th large bundles of plants to Washington from the Birch Creek post office. (The town of Birch Creek does not exist today.) By August 13 they were climbing high into what Henderson thought of as the Lost River Mts. but which are today’s southern Lemhi Mtns. Here they found another raspberry, Batidaea fdipendula Greene (now also submerged in Rubus idaeus). Higher still at 2,438 meters, the next day Henderson collected a new low- growing gooseberry originally named Grossularia neglecta by Berger but today known in the literature as Ribes hendersonii, or as R. oxyacanthoides var. hendersonii. Also here in the high Lemhi Mtns. he gathered a clover, Trifolium idahoense (now T. haydenii Porter). The location data for these specimens, as well as others collected here, appears misleadingly as “Lost River Mts.” on Henderson’s types at the Smithsonian. Descending from the mountains via Pass Creek on August 15 they continued north up Birch Creek to its origin near Gilmore Summit and then down to the headwaters of the Lemhi River. That day they made their second collection of Angelica roseana Henderson. LFH described the site : “Foothills of the Lost River Mts. near Salmon, 2,195 meters. Banks of dried gravelly rills.” (The site is in the Lemhi Mts.) Cymopterus hendersonii, called mountain spring parsley. The distinctive species, named for LFH by Coulter and Rose, was collected near Challis probably on August 2, 1895. The label on the type specimen bears the date August 21. On that date, LFH and Kirtley were well to the east in the Lemhis. Drawing by J.R. Janish, Intermountain Flora Vol. 3-A, p. 377. -4- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ♦> A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) August 16 and 17, from the valley of the north-flowing Lemhi River, they again worked their way west into the high northern Lemhis (which Henderson called the “Salmon River Mts.”), extensively exploring and collecting. He shrewdly noted in his journal that the mountains in the southern part of this range are sedimentary in origin while those to the north are igneous. Although he stated that he had found at least 20 new species here, I have not been able to locate type specimens from these dates. By August 20 the pair was again moving west, up Mill Creek, into the northern Lemhis. By 2:00 pm at an elevation of 9,800 feet, by LFH’s calculation, they found themselves in the heart of the range. “The flora was remarkably like that of the Cascade Mountains, especially Mt. Hood and here for the first time [on this trip] Cassiope, Phyllodoce and Kalmia were collected.” Their summer trip ended 4 days later at the town of Salmon (Charles Kirtley’s home town) on August 31. To conclude, here is a summary of what I have learned about Louis Henderson’s erroneously labeled 1895 specimens: Because the maps of his day were inaccurate and the names of geographic features have changed, Henderson’s journal on file at the Botany Library at the Smithsonian, as well as a considerable number of his herbarium sheets on file at the National Herbarium bear incorrect labels. Specimens labeled “Warm Springs” were actually collected near Burgdorf, and those labeled “Secesh Peak” were probably collected on Bear Pete Mountain. In addition, we now know that he collected at only a single station in the southern Lost River Range at Areo Pass (today’s Challis National Forest) on August 9, 1895. Any other Henderson collections labeled “Lost River Mts.” and dated August 12 through August 15, 1895 were made in the southern Lemhis (Targhee National Forest today); and collections dated August 16 through August 21, 1895 and labeled “Salmon River Mts.” were made in today’s northern Lemhi Mtns. (Salmon National Forest). 1895 map of Idaho showing the route taken by L.F. Henderson and his assistant, Charles Kirtley from Moscow to Salmon. My thanks to the following: Allan Jokisaari, Map Librarian, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; Andrew J. P. Nicholson, Map Librarian, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon; Cheryl Jones, Lemhi County Historical Society & Museum, Salmon, Idaho; Chris Millspaugh, Regional History' Librarian, The Community Library, Ketchum, Idaho; Ivan Swaner, Ketchum, Idaho; Joan Davies, College of Southern Idaho, Hailey, Idaho; Judy Austin, Idaho State Historical Society; Roberta Green, Challis, Idaho; Rusty Russell, Curator, U. S. National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Ruth Schallert, Librarian, Botany Libraries, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and the Staffs of: Leadore Ranger Station, Salmon National Forest; Blaine County Museum, Hailey, Idaho; City Hall, Craigmont, Idaho; Clayton Ranger Station, Challis National Forest; Custer Visitor Center, Custer, Idaho; Fairfield Tourist Information “Caboose,” Fairfield, Idaho; Idaho City Visitor Center, Idaho City, Idaho; Land of the Yankee Fork Visitor Center, Challis, Idaho; McCall Ranger Station, Payette National Forest; Nez Perce National Historical Park (Spalding Visitor Center), Spalding, Idaho; Redfish Lake Visitor Center, Sawtooth National Forest; Sawtooth National Recreation Area Visitor Center, Ketchum, Idaho; and Idaho’s very helpful and informative roadside history markers! Bibliography Boone, L. 1988. Idaho Place Names: a Geographical Dictionary. University of Idaho Press, Moscow. Cronquist, A., N. H. Holmgren, P. K. Holmgren. 1997. Intermountain Flora. Vol. 3. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N. Y. Flora of North America Editorial Committee. 1993 to present. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volumes 1-. Oxford University Press, New York. Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho Yearbook, Volume 1, 1902. Photo of LFH. -5- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) Henderson, L. F. 1897. “A New Isoetes from Idaho,” Botanical Gazette. 23: 124-125. Henderson, L. F. 1930. “Early Experiences of A Botanist in the Northwest,” in manuscript form in the University of Oregon archives, Sweetser Papers, 3/2. Serialized in Native Plant Society of Oregon Bulletin, Oct. 1981 through June 1982. Henderson, L. F. 1895. “New Plants from Idaho,” Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. 22:48-50. Henderson, L. F. 1900. “New plants from Idaho and from other Localities of the Northwest,” Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. 27 (6): 342-359. Henderson, L. F. 1898. “Twelve of Idaho’s Worst Weeds,” University of Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin. 14: 91-163,. (Should be very interesting to ecologists today. Illustrated with photographs.) Henderson, L. F. 1899. “Two New Species of Plants from the Northwestern United States,” Contrib. from the U. S. National Herbarium, 5:201-202. {Aster latahensis and Angelica roseana, both from Idaho. The Angelica illustrated.) Henderson, L. F. 1834-1958. Accession Records. Various accession records exist for plants donated to the National Herbarium by LFH. (See especially: RU 305, US National Museum, Office of the Registrar, Accession Records 35960-36189 Boxes 155 and 168, 170, Envelope 36103.) Henderson, L. F. 1895. Collections, plant lists, unpublished field journals and final report of LFH’s 1895 trip through Central Idaho all exist at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC., Botany Department Library, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Record Unit 10100144, Collection notes. Lists, Catalogs on Plants. Henderson, L. F. Collections. Herbarium sheets including many type specimens. Smithsonian Institution National Herbarium, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington DC. (It is said that the National Herbarium holds approximately 4,000 Henderson sheets.) Henderson, L. F. 1895, 1900 other dates? Letters to F. V. Coville, Permission to publish Idaho species. Receives affirmative reply from Coville June 11, 1900. Henderson was on sabbatical at Harvard a this time. Smithsonian Archives, Washington DC, USNM Division of Plants, Records, 1886-1928, Series 1, Box 12. Hitchcock, C. L„ A. Cronquist, M. Ownbey, J. W. Thompson. 1955-1969. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Vols. 1-5. University of Washington Press, Seattle. Love, R. M. 2000. “The Grand Old Man of Northwest Botany: Louis F. Henderson (1853-1942),” Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 91 (4): 183-100. Love, R. M. 2001 Louis F. Henderson ( 1853-1942): The Grand Old Man of Northwest Botany, Occasional Paper Number Two of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, Eugene. Schwantes, C. A. 1996. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretative History, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. Schwantes, C. A. 1999. In Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. Yarber, E. 2000. Land of the Yankee Fork, Publishers Press, Salt Lake City, 8th printing. Electronic: Smithsonian Institution web site contains notes on plants collected by LFH including data for many of his types as well as location of his unpublished journals and reports from the 1895 Idaho trip, http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botanv/colls.htm Book Review: Field Guide to the Liverwort Genera of Pacific North America, By Wilf B. Schofield, Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of British Columbia. This is a new book published October 2002, 232 pp., 93 line drawings, glossary, checklist, index, 7”x 10”. ISBN: 0295-98194-6. Published by Global Forest Society Vancouver and San Francisco. No one is more qualified or knowledgeable than Wilf Schofield to write this treatment on the Liverworts of the Pacific North America. The book is a gentle and user-friendly introduction to a new world for the curious biologists or botanists that want to learn about liverworts. Many botanists like myself find themselves working and living in the arid west enjoying the sunshine but longing for the lush green view of liverworts. Looking at liverworts up-close with a hand lens can be like a trip to a glass greenhouse in the dead of winter: lush and green are so beautiful. Yet, as a beginner in the identification of liverworts, attempting to key out your beautiful liverwort in the earlier, two- volume technical key to the liverworts of all North America is a humbling and harsh experience. Start with this user-friendly book instead. You may be happy to know the genera and stop at this level of differentiation for your ecological studies. You may want to advance to the more technical species level, or you may be content to page through the line drawings of each genus to find your specimen. This book is a good companion to the field guide, “Some common mosses of British Columbia” also by Schofield. Both books have a similar presentation with excellent line drawings of the taxa treated. This book on liverworts does not cover the individual species, but does have a checklist that includes the species and their authorities within each genus treated. This checklist will be very helpful. The habitat and geographic descriptions are fairly general and often are open-ended (i.e. these taxa will grow on a particular substrate, and the vegetation type that they occur in may be wide open). For example, I find liverworts in arid portions of the sagebrush steppe, or -6 Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) on shallow rocky outcrops within the Palouse Prairie when we have a wet year. These are not typical habitats for some of the liverworts but the plants are growing on the substrates that Schofield mentions! The historic liverwort collectors in the area are mentioned, but some of the more contemporary collectors are not. Ecological research and some of the ecological functions of liverworts in ecosystems could have been mentioned in the introduction or references to ecological publications could have been included in this publication. I recommend Schofield’s “Field Guide to the Liverwort Genera of Pacific North America” to anyone who wants to look into this window of nature and learn some new green friends. Roger Rosentreter, Idaho BLM State Office Botanist. Meeting Notice 19th Annual Idaho Rare Plant Conference Where: Idaho Power Company Headquarters, Boise When: February 11th and 12th 2003 Purpose: Discuss and review new information on rare plant species in Idaho. Sponsor: Idaho Native Plant Society Contact: Ms. Judy Ferguson, (208) 345-5314 ext. 242 Jfergus2@CH2M.com LW Man of §mm.f U tmxia V! . r*ti Ifc l fdmm \ftiiit8 rbM ‘Unmi* » M it: • Louis F. Henderson (1853 - 1942) The Grand Old Man of Northwest Botany Botanist Louis Henderson was a larger-than-life figure in the mold of John Muir. Possessed of great physical strength and stamina, he energetically explored the mountains, deserts, forests, and seacoasts of the Northwest for 65 years, adding greatly to our knowledge of the flora. LFH was also a writer, raconteur, and mountain-climber, as well as a conscientious family man. This unique biography, meticulously documented and lavishly illustrated, includes 56 images, chronology, publication list, and list of taxa named for LFH. Author: Rhoda M. Love, PhD Publication Date: Revised July 2002 To order, make your $10.00 check or money order payable to “NPSO” and send to: Occasional Papers, Native Plant Society of Oregon, PO Box 902, Eugene, Oregon 97440-0902. Paid Advertisement -7- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) Mahonia repens Lois Wyth, Kinnickinnik Chapter "Oregon Grape, "says Botanist Underbill, "is rather like the prophet — unsung in his own country." Common in this area, it is often overlooked these days, but not so among the Indians and colonists, and it appeared in all of the pharmacopoeias until the late 1880's. The Scottish botanist, David Douglas, who roamed around here in the 1 830's, identified it very quickly as a fine ornamental shrub. There are more than 100 species of Mahonia , says HORTUS THIRD; and because there are some 500 species of Berberis, taxonomists finally decided to move it into its own genus - Mahonia. However, many seed catalogs, and even some states like Idaho, still classify it as Berberis - so here’s another plant you may need to check out in more than one index. The name comes from Bernard M’mahon, a distinguished early American horticulturist who died in 1816. In North Idaho we have three native mahonias, the most common being actually the least attractive, Mahonia repens. Mahonia aquifolium, the Oregon state flower, is a small shrub in contrast to our low-growing M. repens (creeping mahonia). A third plant is the rarely seen Mahonia nervosa. Betsy Hammet (Idaho Panhandle National Forest North Zone Botanist) has seen it only rarely where she found it in hemlock/cedar woods in the French Creek drainage up the Pack River. It is difficult to mistake this striking evergreen plant. The flowers are small and bright yellow, with six petals, nine sepals, and six stamens. They are suspended in one- to three-inch racemes in dense clusters. Leaves are from four to six inches long, and differences among the three species are easily distinguished. They are dark green and lustrous in spring and summer, turning to bronze, gold, crimson and purple in fall. The fruit (it is NOT a grape) is deep blue and purple clusters of berries. While not tasty to humans, they certainly are edible. Our M. repens is a ground-hugger, while the other species may reach three to six feet in height and are much more shrub-like. Culinary and Medicinal Uses: The berries are best made up as a tart jelly to use as a meat accompaniment. Crushed and made up into a drink they are sometimes used by herbalists to cool fevers. The berries are also high in Vitamin C and were often used to treat scurvy. However, it is the rootstock’s healing qualities, which were so prized by Native Americans, who crushed and dried the yellow roots to cure a wide variety of ailments like ulcers, heartburn, rheumatism, kidney problems, and some skin conditions. The early settlers learned about this root’s amazing medical properties in the 1800’s and Mahonia tonics were a popular market commodity. Herbalists recommended soaking the roots in warm beer to relieve hemorrhaging. The active ingredient that makes Mahonia such an effective remedy is an alkaloid called berberine (the powerful healing constituent found also in goldenseal). Berberine stimulates bile secretions and modem herbalists and homeopaths believe it promotes good liver function and purifies the blood. Most herbal manuals recommend steeping an ounce of dried root in a cup of boiling water, QTLXj nut - ^Roftonio with a dosage of three tablespoons daily, although they Courtesy of Michael Moore, SW School of Botanical Medicine warn that persons with over-active livers should stay away from this root. Landscape uses: Because they are so adaptable and so hardy, all of the Mahonias recommend themselves to home landscape use. Many hybrids have been developed that emphasize the holly-like aspect of the shrub species in particular. Our M. repens is a fine ground cover. It is at its best in partial sun and fairly moist conditions and will tolerate considerable traffic when fully established. Great for edges like driveways and paths. In the North -8- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) Distribution of Mahonia repens. Courtesy of Michael Moore, SW School of Botanical Medicine Idaho Native Plant Arboretum we are edging many of our paths with Oregon grape. And it isn’t fussy about soil types either. If you are going to transplant pieces of established plants, this will be done most successfully in the very early spring before the new spring growth starts - as early as the snow is gone. If transplanting from an area of deep shade into a sunnier spot, do it gradually. Wildlife uses: Fruit eating birds and animals will eat the berries, and the shrubs provide shelter for both. Note - deer seldom browse this plant. Pests and diseases: Leaf spot, powdery mildew and rust can be damaging. Good air circulation seems to be the best preventive, but planting at the proper time seems to be beneficial too. Spring is better than Fall. Other uses: If you have ever seen objects made of warm-toned Mahonia wood, polished carefully, you will always remember them. Crucifixes are often made of this wood. Beautiful yellow and tan dyes are also made from the roots, and even from the stems and leaves. The fruit yields a purplish-blue color to wool if mordanted with alum. Seeds of Success Rachael Buckingham and Ann DeBolt This past summer the Student Conservation Association partnered with the Bureau of Land Management to collect native plant seeds for a program called Seeds of Success. Teams of 3-4 interns were placed in Utah, Nevada, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The Boise-based team collected seeds from 42 Idaho native plant species, with efforts concentrated in the southwest portion of the state. The Seeds of Success program is encompassed within the much larger and international Millennium Seed Bank Project, located at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This project originally began in the UK to conserve domestic flora, but has expanded into a worldwide seed banking effort. It is aimed at collecting arid land species in its partnership with the BLM, with the long-term goal of securing ten percent of the world’s plant biodiversity by 2010. Each seed collection in Idaho consisted of a single plant population with an idealistic minimum of 10,000 seeds from at least 100 individuals, to ensure genetic diversity. Before seeds were collected, plant sites were visited to collect herbarium specimens, assess the population size, estimate the amount of damage (insect or otherwise), and determine an Seeds of Success field crew - southwest Idaho 2002. Courtesy of BLM approximate date the population would be ready for collection. Each collection was sent to Kew where seeds were cleaned and processed to estimate the number of good seeds. Seeds will eventually be tested for germination and viability. Fifty percent of the seeds from each collection will be returned to the BLM to be utilized in several ways. Seeds may be used in native plant material development, for educational or scientific purposes, or in future restoration/revegetation projects. The remaining seeds will be stored at Kew in perpetuity. There were many factors taken into consideration when deciding which plant species to collect. Efforts were directed at collecting species needed for public -9 Winter 2002 ♦> SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) land restoration, native plant material development, next year at new, as yet undetermined locations in the and to conserve widespread native species. west. For more information, check out the web site This national program has been a huge success, at www.nps.gov/plants/sos. with 245 species collected to date. It will continue Chapter News Kinnikinnick Chapter The Kinnikinnick Chapter wound up 2002 with its traditional “finger-food potluck brunch” at the Sandpoint home of the first Kinnikinnick president, Gretchen Hellar, on Saturday, December 7th. The first holiday brunch was hosted by Gretchen in 1997, just before the Sandpoint “native plant group” became an official chapter of the INPS on January 1, 1998. Recent programs, following a summer hiatus during July and August, were: “Pollinators In Peril” about the precarious state of the bee population (Nov.); “Corridors of Life” an American Wildlands’ program for establishing wildland corridors between major wildlife habitats in the northwest (Oct.); and “The Explorer’s Guide To Rocky Mountain Wildflowers” about the new book of Jerry Pavia, internationally renowned photographer of gardens and flowers who lives north of Sandpoint near the Canadian border (Sept.). This fall series of meetings followed Kinnikinnick’ s hosting of the INPS annual meeting the last weekend in July. Meanwhile, three committees - Arboretum, Conservation, and Landscaping - have announced ambitious programs for 2003, once the spring season allows outdoor activity. Officers elected to serve during 2003 are: Bruce Vogelsinger, who succeeds Eileen Atkisson as president; Molly O’Reilly, who follows Pat Ramsey as vice-president; Annette Fraser-Runnalls, who continues as secretary; and Pat Stevens, who again serves as treasurer. Loasa Chapter Upcoming Activities: Dec 9, 2002 7pm CSI Taylor 276 ICL presentation: Boulder- White Clouds. Come & find out more about wilderness ! Dec 14, 2002 10am-12noon 195 Tyler (TF) Plant presses-you can build your own & learn how to press and mount plants! (save your corrugated cardboard- ll”xl7” ) Jan 13, 2003 7pm 2572 E 3700 N (TF) Rare Plant Presentation by Sawtooth NF Botanist Kim Pierson- Castilleja christii Feb 10, Mar 10, Apr 14, 2003 7pm CSI Taylor 276 (programs to be announced) Calypso Chapter Calypso (Coeur d'alene) Chapter, INPS; Chapter Founded 1991: PO Box 331, Carey wood, Idaho 83809. Officer Terms: October 2002-May 2003. President, (VACANT); Vice-President (VACANT); Secretary, Phil Hruskocy, Box 899, Hayden, Idaho 83835, philh28@hotmail.com; Treasurer, Jan Benoit, P O Box 331, Careywood, Id.83809, iebenoit@ sisna.com; Newsletter Editor: Phil Hruskocy. Conservation Committee: Phil Hruskocy. Next meeting: March 5, 2003. 7 p.m.. At Life Care Center, 500 Aqua Drive, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Speaker/Program to be announced in Calypso Chapter Newsletter. Chapter meets first Wednesday in March, April, May, and September. Chapter conducts business meetings after speaker program. Field trips usually held April, May, June, July, August, and September. Possible new Paleobotany field trip in 2003: Stonerose Interpretive Center and Eocene Fossil Site, (50 million years ago), Republic, Washington.See: www.stonerosefossil.org for fossil site visiting times and rules for numbers of specimens discovered, and allowed to be kept per visit. Also: email: srfossil@televar.com. October 2,2002, Speaker program, Lunell Haught, Parks to Peaks Project. Email address:p2p@ whitecloudcouncil.org. For details: www.whitecloudcouncil.org. This project attempts to connect urban spaces, rural open spaces, and wild lands in Spokane and Kootenai Counties, secure and sustaining these natural linkages. - 10- Winter 2002 ❖ SAGE NOTES ❖ A Publication of the Idaho Native Plant Society Vol. 24 (4) News and Notes President’s Message When I was installed as the new State President of the Idaho Native Plant Society this summer at our Annual Meeting in Sandpoint, I set two goals for my tenure: to increase membership and to improve communication between the State Board and our chapters. Little did I know that a new chapter was brewing in the south central part of the state! So first, I would like to warmly welcome the Loasa Chapter — INPS’ 7th and newest — of Twin Falls. The IMPS Board approved the chapter’s application during its November 2002 meeting. Loasa is the family name for Blazing Star (Mentzelia laeviculmis) a brilliant, lemon yellow flowered desert species. Miriam Austin, a botanical consultant in the area, initiated the new chapter and nearly 20 folks attended its first official meeting. Good work, Miriam! Next, I want to take a moment to talk about the issue of advocacy. During the Annual Meeting this summer, the diverse group of participants from around the state voted to change the wording of INPS’ mission statement to include the phrase “to advocate for the conservation of this rich natural heritage [native flora and its habitats] for future generations.” The question of advocacy is a delicate one for some individuals and some chapters. However, I believe that much of the controversy stems from a misunderstanding of the word itself. Advocacy (according to the Random House Dictionary) means "the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending." Pleading in this case does not mean begging; it describes what a lawyer might do-- to plead a case for or against something. By endorsing conservation advocacy, it is INPS' intention to support and recommend actions on behalf of native plant species and communities to local, state, and federal agencies as well as to individuals and private entities that are based on the best science available. Personally, I call it "education." Two anecdotes illustrate why advocacy is important and how it might be done. In 1994, when I worked as a naturalist for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in central Idaho, the first botanist EVER was hired to monitor native plants on the NRA’s 3/4 of a million acres. One seasonal botanist to oversee, plead, support, and recommend on behalf of native plants ranging across 3/4 million acres of sagebrush valleys and alpine areas above 10,000 feet! Clearly an impossible task. In other areas of the state, the task is even more daunting. My point is that resource managers often NEED our help to provide them with sound information concerning native plant issues as they make important policy decisions. And we also need to send letters of support to those same managers when they make good sound decisions. My second comment concerns a lovely gentle man and long-time INPS Board and White Pine member, Loring Jones, who regrettably passed away a couple of years ago. Loring believed strongly that INPS should NOT advocate on native plant issues; that it was not our place to do so. And then the Forest Service decided to carve a logging road on steep unstable slopes diagonally across a pristine section Loring knew very very well, an area known as Aquarius. Loring came unglued. With great passion he pleaded his case to the Board, urging us to "support and recommend" actions on behalf of this truly remarkable area. I was State President at that time, too, and I remember him saying, "We've got to DO something!" I asked him to educate the Board about both the area and the issues. He did and we quickly realized that we DID have to do something. A letter was drafted to the Forest Supervisor describing Aquarius and proposing alternatives to the Forest Service’s intended actions. White Pine/INPS invited the Supervisor and others to attend several field trips to the area and explained to them what made the area so extraordinary. The upshot? The Supervisor became excited about this special place he was responsible for! He himself became an advocate for Aquarius! The road was rerouted to a less steep and more stable area and Aquarius remained intact. Now THAT is advocacy! Sincerely, Kristin Fletcher - 11 - Idaho Native Plant Society P.O.Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Boise, ID Permit No. 688 New York Botanical Garden Library G558 Serials & Exchng. Bronx, NY 10458-5126 LUESTERT MERT2 LIBRARY JAN 2 2 2003 NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN liiim ■ Intili tisii-Sniilp.JiijshijissS'.iiliiijiulliiil Sage Notes is published four times a year in February, May, September, and December by the Idaho Native Plant Society, incorporated since 1977, under the laws of the State of Idaho. Editor, Mark Shumar; Production, Juanita Lichthardt; Contributing Editors, Nancy Cole, Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, and Chris Murphy. Newsletter ads: personal ads $2; commercial ads $5 for 1/8 page, $8 for 1/4 page, $15 for 1/2 page, and $25 for full page. Ads should be sent with payment. Submissions: members and others are invited to submit material for publication. Articles in any form, even hand-written, are welcome, as is art work. Please provide a phone number in case there are questions. Material will not be returned. Send submissions directly to the editor, Mark Shumar, 6017 W Randolph Dr., Boise, ID 83709, or . Submission deadlines are January 1, April 1, August 1, and November 1. Officers: President, Kristin Fletcher; Vice President, Cleve Davis; Secretary, Kahne Jensen; Treasurer, Steve Rust; Member-at-large, Loring Jones; Past President, Karl Holte; Conservation Committee Chair, VACANT; Newsletter Editor, Mark Shumar. Calypso Chapter, P.O. Box 331, Careywood, ID 83809. President, VACANT; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary, Phil Hruskocy; Treasurer, Janet Benoit; Newsletter, Peggy Faust. Kinnikinnick Chapter, 1248 South Center Valley Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864. President, Eileen Atkisson; Vice President, Pat Ramsey; Secretary, Annette Fraser-Runnalls; Treasurer, Patricia Stevens; Founder, Lois Wythe; Conservation, Molly O’Reilly; Newsletter, Michael and Phil Franklin; INPS board representative, Phil Franklin; Arboretum, Sylvia Chatbum; Education, Pat Ramsey; Field trips, Jan Griffitts & Mary Shackelford; Historian, Sherry Metz; Hospitality, Dixie Stansell; Membership, Mary Jo Haag; Programs, Valle Novak; Ways and Means, Michele Murphree. Pahove Chapter, PO Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. President, Chris Murphy; Vice President, VACANT; Secretary-Treasurer, Steve Rust. Sah-Wah-Be Chapter, 1646 Kinghom Rd., Pocatello, ID 83201. President, Ruth Moorhead; Vice President, Brian Schuetz; Secretary, Barbara Nicholls; Treasurer, Harry Giesbrecht; Board Representative, Karl Holte. White Pine Chapter, PO Box 8481, Moscow, ID 83843. President, Sonja Lewis; Vice President, Mary Conitz; Secretary, Karen Adams; Treasurer, Jonalea Tonn; Publicity, Elisabeth Brackney; Newsletter, Nancy Miller; Past President, Dennis Ferguson. Wood River Chapter, PO Box 3093, Hailey, ID 83333. President, VACANT; Vice President, Joanne Vassar; Secretary-Treasurer; Jo Ann Robbins; Member- at-large, Carol Blackburn. Loasa Chapter, President; Miriam Austin. The Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS) is dedicated to promoting interest in native plants and plant communities and to collecting and sharing information on all phases of the botany of native plants in Idaho, including educating the public to the values of the native flora and its habitats. In keeping with our mission, it is the intent of the INPS to educate its membership and the public about current conservation issues that affect Idaho’s native flora and habitats. Membership is open to anyone interested in our native flora. Send dues to Steve Rust, Treasurer, 1201 N. 24th, Boise, ID 83702, and all correspondence to INPS, Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Website address: IdahoNativePlants.org. Category 2002 Annual Dues New dues rates . Patron $30 $35 . Individual $10 $15 _ Household * $15 $20 . Student $7 $8 . Senior Citizen $7 $8 Name Address City/State Zip Telephone Chapter affiliation? (check one) Calypso (Coeur d’Alene; please include $6 newsletter dues) Kinnikinnick (Sandpoint; please include $6 for Kinnikinnick Journal) Pahove (Boise) Sah-Wah-Be (SE Idaho) White Pine (Moscow Loasa (Twin Falls) Wood River (Ketchum-Sun Valley; please include $7 chapter dues) None. Those who do not live near a chapter are encouraged to join. We can put you in touch with other members in your area, and can coordinate with you on any state level activities you may wish to be involved in. * Household memberships are allocated two votes.